Bleach Rebirth of the Guardian
by fanboy913
Summary: Bereft of purpose after the loss of his powers, a now sixteen year old Ichigo Kurosaki decided that a change of venue would be what he needed to get him out of his funk. A surprise win with a scholarship opens the door to a new world and not the one he was expecting. (Set after the Aizen Arc but before the fullbring arc.)
1. Prologue

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

 _Ichigo glanced over at his dad, the clock behind them ticked ever onward and it was late, he sipped some of the sake his pops had poured him and nodded. "It's too much right now," he said in a calm detached voice aided by the liquid fire he was drinking. "I feel too much, too weak, to useless" he laughed and cut off his dad before he could speak. "I know that it is foolish that me just being Ichigo Kurosaki human is enough." He sighed "But every time I see Orihime, Chad, Ishida walk to battle, to fight the monsters that I know are there, that I cannot see anymore...it hurts."_

 _His dad nodded in understanding "It took me a while to get used to it after I lost my powers for the first time but I had your mother so that helped a lot. Still, I don't see any issue with this, the scholarship program is legitimate the school has the highest ranking among educational institutions in this county. It is a good place."_

 _"And it is not here," Ichigo said, "I need some time away from this town, even as it hurts to leave everyone I know….it's hurting too much to stay."_

 _"I'm sorry," Isshin said._

 _"It's not your nor anyone's fault save my own, my own head, my selfish desires." he laughed again this time with a harsh edge, "I thought I was a good person dad, but It's turning out that I simply loved the power."_

 _He did not see his dad move but he was pulled out of the chair and into the embrace of his pops "Don't you ever say that, don't you ever believe it. You invaded heaven for a friend, you invaded hell for your sister, you sacrificed that power you held so dear to save our world. That is not the actions of one who loves power above all."_

 _Tears flowed from his eyes stinging his vision red "Thank you dad"_

 _"I love you Ichigo"_

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His eyes opened as the vehicle began to slow, he glanced down at his lap to see an empty bento box. _"H-here" Inoue shoved it into his hand, she had a smile plastered on her face that has been there all morning ever since all his friends came to see him off. "In case you get hungry on the way."_

 _"Thank you" he had hugged her tightly and even though she squeaked at the sudden motion she had hugged him right back when he attempted to pull away. She looked like she wanted to say something but after a moment of her mouth moving soundlessly she said "I'll see you later Kurosaki-Kun"_

"You too Inoue"

The bus pulled to a stop and he stretched out his arms, he was one of the few people left on the bus and the only one getting off here. He reached above his seat and pulled out his back and backpack and gave the driver a nod as he stepped off the bus.

Shading his eyes against the sun as the van pulled away he was treated to the vision of what would be the town he would reside in. There was the secant of clean air and from the vantage point, he was on the whole of the down lay around him. It was smaller than Karakura Town, compact housing dotted the streets. Its style, layout, feel was so different than that of his home. Standing there the choking sense of loss and desire ebbed somewhat, almost like he could pretend that things were normal.

The wind caressed his face carrying with it the smell of spring a time of new beginnings, it was ruined by the sound of a car pulling up to the bus stop….or rather a Limo. Now he had not known what he had been expecting, his school had been offered a change for one of their students to receive a full scholarship to one of the most prestigious academy, one that up until this year had been all girls. The scholarship had required high grades, a hard written test and then approval by however had set it up in the first place. Granted it included room and board along with the scholarship and when he had been accepted it had been a relief.

But still a limo that has not been high on his list of cars….perhaps it was not his pick up, the window rolled down. The first thing he noticed was the striking violet eyes, a trait he had yet to find among humans. They were rimmed by glasses and framed by trimmed black hair that fell to her neck, she wore the girls uniform of Kuoh Academy, perfectly smooth and pristine. All in all, it added up to quite an attractive appearance, despite whatever rumors were thrown around Ichigo Kurosaki did notice women, he just never felt the need to let it run his life.

The girl was giving him a simpler once over, and he felt a tad underdressed in his black shirt and camo pants. But that passed as soon as it had come, there had been nothing beyond the fact that he would be picked up given to him. "Are you Ichigo Kurosaki?" she asked as a man got out of the car and moved to open a door. He nodded his head "Would you please join me then." He slipped into the car as the driver took his bags from him and placed them in the trunk.

Ichigo noted at once that there was one more girl in the car, the girl had the same skin tone and hair color as the one who had treated him but that was where the similarities stopped. From what he could guess she was only three inches shorter than his six feet, her hair was much, much longer extending down past her knees, one of her eyes was violet the other light brown and her expression was much more relaxed than her counterpart. Besides her already striking face she had quite a generous bust held nicely by the Kouh Uniform. Thankfully his friendship and interaction with many of the women he had met in his...adventures had inoculated him with constant exposure to such an asset. It was still nice to see but nothing to dwell on...thought it most likely said something about him...he just was not sure what.

"Tsubaki Shinra," she said with a pleasant smile.

"Ichigo Kurosaki"

The window rolled up and the other girl turned to him "It is a pleasure to meet you Ichigo Kurosaki, I am Sona Sitri the student council president of Kouh Academy, this is my Vice President." Tsubaki nodded at her friend's words.

"How was your trip?"

"It was fine, I slept most of the way." He replied trying to relax a little, perhaps it was the limo but the sensation of being on edge had flared up for a moment before fading to something more normal. "I had only been off the bus for a moment before you showed up" he nodded his head "Thank you for this opportunity."

That got a real smile on her face and it was quite stunning "It was my pleasure to do so, though it was your work and effort that got you here. Your test scores were quite amazing and that is in spite of what you records might suggest."

He sighed shaking his head "Lots of people out there who like to pick on something different." He pointed to his head "Not a lot of orange in my town it tended to attract the wrong sort of attention I learned to look after myself."

"That sounds like a regrettable situation why was it not dealt with by your school.?" she sounded offended almost.

"Some people think bullying is part of growing, others that it should be settled between the kids themselves. Mostly it was the fact that several of the students there had connections with gangs in the local area and if they had done anything major the focus would have been shifted from me to the school." he shrugged "I was enough to keep them distracted and run them off...with the help of a few friends here and there" He caught the looks in both there gazes "They were not high end or high violence gangs or at least they never seemed that way to me." Ichigo paused "May I ask a question?"

"Of course that is the purposes of us being here in the first place."

"Why was I chosen, given that you know my record such as it is."

The girls glanced at each other and there was a sense of communication that passed between them, he knew what it looked like because he had done it himself often enough. There was a sharp pain in his chest at that thought but he pushed it down. "I was curious," Sona said after a moment "You scored the highest out of all the applicants, in spite of the fact that you had by far the most lurid of backgrounds" She shook her head "I decided to look further into the matter as it had caught my interest. I spoke with your teachers and your principal all of which gave you glowing recommendations. I wondered what would cause you to attempt this, to try and leave what you knew behind? Given that you also had the best scores I decided that you deserved a chance."

The reasoning behind the answer had his breathing made his breathing relax "The program mentioned that I will be required to work with the student council as part of the scholarship. What kind of duties will I be doing?"

"You will work under us, mostly me through if your fellow members ask for help you are to do your best to accommodate them. Most of what we do outside of event preparation is process the paperwork from various clubs and organizations, enforce the rules and discipline the rule breakers and oversee that the cleaning duties of the students are done on time." she pursed her lips "That is a brief overview, there will be more than just that but as a whole that is what the majority of our time is spent doing."

"That sound like a lot for a student council."

"It is, the school itself wishes to teach responsibility and to further that they leave as much of the school as possible to be run by the students, though they will step in if needed." Her smile was very self-satisfied "That has never happened under my watch"

He had to admit the idea was interesting though you would need highly competent students to pull such a thing off, and given that only the best of the best had been accepted until recently it had worked. How that would change now thought was anyone's guess "Where I will be staying?"

"There is a guest house on my family property, it has a bedding, toiletries, TV if you sho chose and of course a place to store what you brought. There are a few rules to staying there, however," she looked at him and he just nodded. "You are to stay out of the main house before the hours of seven in the morning and after the hours of ten. It would be unseemly if a boy and a girl who were not related were alone and even more so for me."

It was not like he would have done anything, but he could see the reasoning the gods along knew what people said about him and Inoue spending time at her apartment. Honestly could then not tell from looking at her that she deserved someone way better than him. "Beyond that, there is food stocked inside the guest house and you may use the main sections when others are around."

"I assume they will be after seven?"

She nodded glancing at her friend "Tsubaki have I forgotten anything?"

The taller girl opened a book and flicked through the pages "His uniform" she said.

"Right, your uniform is on the way as we speak and should be here before tomorrow's opening ceremony, which we are on our way to set up so I will introduce you to the rest of the council." her eyes drifted out the window "And here we are"

Turning to follow her gaze he let out a low whistle, he had seen pictures but in person, it was quite the sight. A campus fit for a college much less a high school, the main building large enough to hold the whole of the student body. A gymnasium, and off to the sides a myriad of sports fields, the grounds were perfectly maintained with a depth of care taken to all the details that show in all that one laid eyes upon.

The limo pulled to a stop and he held open the door for the girls and the driver gave him a nod of thanks. "Your baggage will be delivered to my home," Sona told him as he closed the door, nodding he followed the two girls as they led him into the main building. The inside was as pristine as the outside, the main room holding a double set of rising stairs that led to the upper floor. They took a right following the hallway until it reached a wide oaken door which opened into what he assumed was the assembly hall. Six other people all dressed in student uniforms were hard at work, two girls one with stark white hair and another with brown pigtails were on their tiptoes putting up a banner. There was a boy walking by them with four folding chairs in his arms, his hair was blonde and spiky, Ichigo watched his eyes move to peek at the two girls who on their tiptoes were showing a lot at the right angle and a slight smile crossed his face.

There was an annoyed exhalation from Sona and the barest sigh from Tsubaki, but as it turned out they were not the only three that noticed as a tall girl with blue hair walked by him and kicked him in the shin and said something quietly into his ear. The boy's face turned to see them and went white, he sped up his work setting up chairs not looking in their direction. The blue haired girl glanced at Sona and shrugged, he caught a good look at her face and noted that it was different than the other girls more angled perhaps but still not displeasing. What was more he knew he had seen her somewhere before, not met her but seen her he just could not put his finger on it?

There was another girl on the stage working with the electric equipment, her brown hair also in twin tails through hers was much thicker and lusher. Behind her a girl with more red then brown hair took and handed tools from her.

Sona nodded and walked forward with him in tow, she did not say anything but the people of the student council responded as if she has given them an order and congregated to them. She looked on them with pride for the most part, even if the boy was still pale with what Ichigo guessed was fear. "Everyone" she looked around her "You are all doing well I am quite proud of what you have accomplished" they all preened at her praise, he found himself taking a step back a pang in his chest accompanied the motion. "I would like to introduce you to our newest member, the one who was awarded the Futures award." All there eyes turned to him and he was struck by the force behind them. All of them, from the soft brown haired girl to the tall intimidating girl at their center. All of them had the gaze of people who were used to power, it was not something he often saw with fellow humans of his age. "Please introduce yourself," she asked.

The sensation vanished and he nodded "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, a pleasure to meet you all."

The white-haired girl smiled back at him "I am Momo Hanakai"

The brown haired one with the thin twintails grinned her colorful green stockings standing out sharply against her pale skin. "Ruruko Nimura at your service newbie"

The blue haired one who was perhaps only an inch shorter than he stepped forward and shook his head with a powerful girl and a rye grin "Tsubasa Yura" The name clicked in his head and he remembered her. What felt like ages ago when he had watched his own friend Tatsuki Arisawa participate in a martial arts tournament. It had been the one where she had broken her arm but still contained to compete only losing in the last round to the girl before him.

The other girl with brown hair and thick twintails that was accompanied by an impressive bust nodded at him in an almost shy manner and introduced herself as Reya Kushka. The last girl almost leaped at him and grabbed his arm with both her hands shaking it up and down with surprising force for a girl her size "I'm Tomoe Meguri, come to me if you need anything." she let go and spun in place "I am the best helper in the school." He nodded his...thanks at her offer.

The boy was sizing him up and had been this whole time and reached out a hand which Ichigo shook "Genshirou Saji, though most people call me Saji." The grip was firm but not unreasonably so "To be honest I'm just glad to have another guy around, I thought you were a girl when I heard your name the first time."

"Saji's that is rude," Sona said.

"Oh sorry," he said pulling his hand back "No offense man"

Ichigo shook his head "None taken" he nodded at all of them "Well how can I help?"

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They finished as evening began to touch the sky, the limo that had been there before was waiting for them and made the rounds to drop them off at their homes. Ichigo was silent through the whole thing, none of the others had made any attempt to speak to him which was his own fault. He was something new in a dynamic that was already set in place they would have to get used to him, besides there had not been much chat anyway as Sona had organized and laid them tasks with the confidence of a leader and the knowledge of one who had done this before.

In the car ride back as the sky began to darken he watched them become more animated, more energized as if the work they had done had not been much at all. Sona and Tsubaki had been in quite a conference the whole ride and through he could not hear their words clearly the tone gave whatever they were speaking of an air of significance.

Watching them like this, the trust he saw, the comradery, it warmed and pained him at the same time. His own friends had done their best to include him but he was a world below them now. A liability in there duty to protect his hometown from the threats it faced, without meaning to his hand reached for his pocket where his badge of office, the mark of the substitute shinigami would have been. There was nothing, of course, he had left it behind in his room, the move a conscious decision. It being here would only remind him more of what he lost. Of what he was now, he could say that he was glad that he would have a job it was something he needed

"You don't talk much do you?" he glanced at the boy Saji sitting across from him.

"I'm new here," he said with a shrug and glanced around the car "and you all had something to talk about"

"Eh," said the boy "Honestly we have not gotten a new member in a while and most of them knew teacher before they were on the student council. Me, I was the newbie before you and honestly if you just smile instead of brood that might make it easier."

The advice was good and if he wanted to get out of his funk that did sound like a good place to start..smiles might not be possible but he could control his scowl. "Thanks, I will think on that."

"Hey, no problem all of us here have had our issues we get it."

Did they? He would not discount the words out of hand but he doubted they would have an issue quite as bad as his situation, or as most people would call it being human. He was sure that meant he had some sort of mental illness according to all the normal standards, perhaps they would call it a god complex? "Thank you, I've had a rough year."

Saji nodded "Well this place is a good spot to make a new start, I know a lot of people who have used his place as such, his eyes tracked over to Sona and lingered there, the lightest members of desire flaring. "Even me."

He honestly had no response to that and thankfully none was needed as the Limo reached what he assumed was Saji's house and the boy got out "See you tomorrow Kaichou" he nodded at him "And you too Kurosaki"

"See you then" he replied.

He watched the boy get out of the car and the limo started up again, Sona and Tsubaki were still speaking in low tones, now that he was alone with them he could hear their voices through they spoke with words that made no sense to him. Another language that had never heard before in his life, both seemed completely fluent in it, he turned his attention away from that. It was clearly something they only wanted the other to know but it did ask the question what did two members of a school council need such code for?

He closed his eyes and felt empty, it was a habit still a sense that did not exist any longer his mind seeking the spiritual energy that he couldn't feel any more, a deep pure mental pain shot across him like fire and he shook off the attempt. He kept his eyes closed seeking to think of nothing as the limo drove to his temporary home. It would take time to learn to be human again, he knew it and he hated it, but that did not mean he would not do it. Ichigo Kurosaki let out a sigh and focused on the nothing letting all fall away into the void.


	2. Chapter 1

_Ichigo Kurosaki felt the day as a whole had gone well, the opening ceremony went without a hitch, Sona's speech had been measured but passionate to a fault. He had been in a spot that let him look over the sea of students, mostly girls...as in four boys and a couple hundred girls. Three of whom had sat together, they had differing heights one with a full head of black hair, another in the middle with thick brown hair that fell into bangs and a third with a mostly shaved skull and the tallest of the group. They he was sure had not paid any attention to the speech, their eyes wandering to the girls around them much to said girl's displeasure. It was not like they were breaking any rules so no one stopped them._

 _The fourth boy was as different as day was to night, well-kempt with blonde hair and a look that clearly won him a lot of attention from the opposite sex. He had heard the boy's name, he had been one of the first group of boys to be chosen to attend this school along with the other three. Next had been Saji and finally himself. Kiba Yuuto his name has been and he remembered it because the Fuka Kaichou Tsubaki had been drooling over him this morning….well not literal drool._

 _He got a lot of looks from his spot sitting with the Student Council up on the stage, he was taller than all the others, his hair a bright orange and his scowl firmly affixed to his face. Honestly a defense mechanism he had not been expecting to be up on the stage. Sona had introduced them all including him as part of her speech so now they all knew his name...wonderful._

 _After that, there had been a hastily clean up where he had watched Tomoe carry five chairs in each hand, and Reya move a sound system by herself. The acts spoke of strength beyond their appearance, he tried to shake off the slight paranoia but there had been a second issue when Sona's friend has shown herself._

" _That was well said Sona dear" Ichigo glanced up at the voice as he placed chairs on a mobile rack he was on stage in the literal background._

 _Sona looked up sharply at the voice and adjusted her glasses a smile touching her lips "It is only natural." He noticed Kiba standing with the one speaking, getting a better look at the boy, middling in height he could see a well built and defend muscle structure over his whole body. The boy tried to hide it with his loose fitting school uniform but the way he moved gave it away. The boy held himself like a veteran Shinigami a stance that could quickly move to violent action if needed. The stance seemed as natural to him as breathing and he stood next to one even more striking and Ichigo would admit distracting figure._

 _Crimson hair the color of freshly spilled blood cascaded down her back to her thighs, her white skin held just the hint of tan or rather almost anything would look tan next to Sona's ivory skin. She wore the school uniform that everyone else did. She stood only two inches below his own height and as was the case with several girls he has met in the past day, had a chest that was the equal of Inoue's and perhaps a little bigger. Honestly, he couldn't even bring himself to feel like a pervert for noticing, unless you were up in her face it was impossible not to notice. He turned his body away and went back to work on the chairs but still listened._

" _Indeed you will need to be good if you plan on keeping your throne," The crimson girl said._

 _Sona's voice only sounded more confident "Rias Gremory are you telling me you plan to run this year?"_

" _Perhaps my rival, after all kicking you off this throne would be pleasant." For all those words meant Ichigo could feel no tension in the air, no slight indication that this was even a challenge. Both girls were silent for a moment before they broke out into laughter and hugged "It is good to see you again Sona"_

" _It has" Sona replied "You were busy, however." for a moment the mood changed to something somber._

" _I am making progress on that, I will keep my freedom yet." Rias replied through her voice quivered slightly as she said so "But enough of that how have you been, have you added to your collection while I have been away?" eyes on his back, he could feel them and they were strong, they had a weight of power to them._

" _No," Sona said with a sigh "He is one of those on the scholarship."_

 _Their eyes seemed to burn into his back and then Rias said something to Sona in the same language she and Tsubaki had used in the car last night. Sona made a humming sound and turned her attention to him as he glanced behind at the eyebrow raised they both started as if shocked. "Can I help you?" he asked. The hairs on his neck standing on end as they were both solely focused on him._

" _Eight," Rias said with shock._

 _Well, that made no sense to him...excellent even more confusion "It seems" Sona shook her head as if coming out of a trance "No Kurosaki-san we were just discussing what your duties were, this is my friend Rias Gremory."_

 _He nodded at that, still a bit on edge given how hard the girl was looking at him, she sighed and rubbed at her eyes "My apologies Kurosaki-san your hair was quite striking." while it was clearly a lie he had no desire to push._

" _One could say the same of you" he replied his scowl falling away as he nodded at both of them and went back to his work. He had pushed the cart away as the two girls began to speak in that odd language, he would need to pay more attention to this place he decided._

 _So he had watched and waited as he went to his morning classes, but nothing happened the first class in math came and went. There was no odd language, no eyes that held power, or anything else that set off his paranoia. Perhaps it was just him…_

 _The rest of the day had gone by quite smoothly, he had helped Reya with moving some books around, helped Tomoe put up some flayers of several clubs. Worked with Saji at sealing and sending letters to various supporters of the school as a thank you for the money. Saji had been quite happy to chat away telling him that Sona hand wrote the notes to each person individually. He had only known the boy for two days but he was absolutely certain the boy had a crush on Sona._

 _When his first day ended he had taken the time to walk a very nice park on the way to his housing taking his time to walk over its grounds and get a sense of peace as it appeared to go well into the forest that surrounded this city. He crossed a place with a fountain he assumed was for people on dates noting the work that had gone into this creation._

 _Karakura Town had nothing like this or if it did no one had bothered to make him aware of it though given who he was that was understandable if it was the case. He must have walked for over an hour before making his way back to Sona's home and guesthouse. She had told him she was going to be late and he did not know her well enough to judge what she meant._

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So he found himself attempting some simple cooking, like really simple he threw some rice in a rice cooker. Fished out some spices and vinegar to make a sauce and added some tofu that was in the massive refrigerator. It was a meal he could not mess up if he tried, Yuzu had been the cook of the family ever since their mother had died but there were always days where it was sometimes not possible. He was nowhere near her level but he would not starve on his own.

He sat at the table and with a glass of water, he was just about to raise the spoon to his mouth when he heard the door open. "No, you have not been here in a while" Sona was saying.

"Will I still have to order food?" The voice was Rias Gremory.

"I would be happy to make us something Bouchou" That voice was different, one he did not recognize.

"Ah, your cooking is quite splendid if memory serves" Tsubaki added.

The unknown girl made a pleaded sound then after a moment of silence "It seems someone has already cooked something."

He took a bite of the rice as the four girls walked in through the living room into the dining room, they saw him glass of water and rice before him, with a school book laid out. He got to see the new girl, and noted her skin was on the same pale as Sona, with long purple hair tied in a long ponytail. She was still in the school uniform with violet eyes that seemed gentle on the surface...and a chest that put her just under Nel and Rangiku in the chest department. He made sure his gaze slid away from that… at this rate, he was going to no longer be shocked about the chest size average that this school seemed to have. "Hello," he said moving to stand.

Sona nodded "Good to see you made your way back Kurosaki-san… you cook?"

"A little" he replied nodding at the guests "A pleasure to see you again Rias-san" he looked at the new girl "I am Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Akeno Himejima" she replied with a grace that seemed natural and yet off at the same time.

He moved to gather his things "What are you doing?"

"Moving to the guest house" he nodded at her guests "Leave you four to visit without a stranger eavesdropping."

"Nonsense," she said waving her hand "It is still eight and you are free to stay for the next two hours" there was a growling sound from her belly and she went red at the sound. "Given what I have heard I know it will not be as good as Akeno-san's food but there is extra he pointed at the kitchen "If you want some."

There was no reason not to give the offer and after a glance at each other all the girls ending up taking a bowl and joining him at the table. He put away the book and almost jumped as Akeno set herself down beside him. Given how many chairs were at this long table that was no accident, he noted Rias roll her eyes at her move.

"So Kurosaki-san tell us about yourself." He kept his eyes fixed on the table not trusting them to look anywhere else at the moment.

"Not much to tell, I'm from Karakura Town got two sisters and a dad." He forced himself to show nothing other sudden pain his words were about to bring "Mom died when I was little so dad raised us by himself. That did not help my attitude in school life, lots of people took a dislike to me and my hair." he shrugged "Not that bullies really need a reason, so I got into a lot of fights. Managed to keep my grades up though that was mostly to spite my teachers who had good reason not to want me around." he shook his head "Not the best reason for that but it was the one I used. Some events happened in my life" Understatement of the minimum "and I decided I needed a change of venue, clear my head, get a new start and all that, honestly I was surprised when I was accepted here." he smiled at Sona "Thank you for that."

She coughed and looked away for a moment "Your welcome" Rias glanced at her friend with a mischievous light in her eyes.

"That's pretty much my story what is yours Akeno-san"

Her smile never changed but he caught Rias wincing "About same as you, my mother had me out of wedlock and the family pretty much disowned her." Great job Kurosaki master of the smooth, he thought.

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

"You were honest so I will be too, besides this one has a happy ending, I met Bouchou" she turned a radiant smile to Rias "She took me in gave him a home and family" Anyone could have heard the love in her voice "And here I am now."

Ichigo nodded " Still I will refrain from asking similar questions"

"No need," Sona said, "Both of us have a relatively normal upbringing."

"We are Rich," Rias said, "So there is that."

"Yes there is that" Sona said "However I have one sister and loving parents. I also grew up with her" she motioned her head at Rias "As a friend and rival"

"Mostly the same" Rias added "Through I have an older brother who can be stiflingly protective at times"

"Sound like a good man," Ichigo said.

"Sometimes" She replied with a smile.

He noted that Sona had avoided saying anything about Tsubaki who sat and watched with a pleasant smile of her own. But he felt there was a good reason she had not spoken up so he would leave it alone, instead, he decided to open up a bit and tell a funny story of his childhood. The others responded in kind through Tsubaki and Akeno only spoke of tales from when they were friends of Sona and Rias.

The ice seemed to break between them, as much as possible for people who had only met for one day, it was pleasant and nice. Sitting with four lovely young women talking, laughing, remembering better times. It was refreshing, and he even got in time to use Sona's huge bath which consisted of several pools and a steam room before he went to bed. All in all, it was a good day and hopefully a good start in a new place, in a new life, even if it was just for a time.

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"Does anyone have my" Ichigo silenced her with a thump of papers hitting her desk, Sona nodded her thanks and took a paper from the stack her pen flying across it her eyes flicking across the lines. He also placed a cup of Tea mixed with honey and a hint of cinnamon. He had noted the drink during the last two weeks. He got up early for calisthenics and martial arts practice and found that Sona liked to spend the morning sitting on her porch. He was quiet as he went about his work out, and as far as he knew she ignored him as she gently sipped her morning beverage. Once he asked and found out what she liked, he made it a point to have it made for her when they were at school. It had taken a few times to get the mix right but he had gotten it.

"The Judo Club wants a meeting at 3:00" he said glancing at a pad in his hand "the Kendo Club have been complaining about Voyeurs, So I'm going to take a look into that this afternoon. The job fair for tomorrow has been set up. Reya got her new books for the library and it is almost time for your mandatory thirty-minute break."

She nodded "Thank you Ichigo-San"

He nodded at her and moved on around the student council room, hard to believe how easy a behavior was to settle into after only two weeks. As he passed Saji hard at work with the creation of a flyer for what looked like the tennis club exhibition he dropped another stack of papers to the boy's left. "How in the world did you get Kaichou to take a break?" he asked looking up from his work. Last week he had asked what drink was he making her and apparently he had tried to do it himself... he had been forbidden from trying again in between bouts of vomit.

"Showed her studies about stress and the need for relaxation, told her she was setting a bad example for the rest of you. Plus even if she does not know it, she needed a breather now and again, I've only been here a short time and even I can see that." The boy gave him a complicated expression which Ichigo ignored and moved on.

Ruruko Nimura was sitting next to Saji and was clearly trying to get and keep his attention, Ichigo was decently sure the girl had a crush on the boy and he either was ignoring it or stupid enough to miss it. Oddly with that thought came the idea that he might be the pot calling the kettle black though he could not figure out why. He placed a basket down beside her filled with the supplies she was going to need but had not asked for yet. "Thank you Ichigo-san," she said.

He nodded and passed by Tomoe dropping a snack next to her, the girl tended to wander when she was hungry, though right now she was in the Zone and did not even so much as note his presence. A few more steps and an arm blocked his path, "Sup Ichigo" Her other hand was on her hip as Tsubasa smirked at him. She has been quick to discard honorifics and he did not really mind "We still on for basketball after school?"

Part of him wanted to regret the first time he had said yes to that, not because it was not fun, it was that and wonderful exercise. It was just that the girl liked to wear Yoga pants and an equally tight top when was not on school time. She looked quite striking but he felt like a sleaze every time he played, hell he had told her as much when she had asked why he looked so hesitant. She had laughed and told him it was fine to look and that he should stop worrying so much, she was fully aware of what she looked like and was fine with him seeing. It has been refreshingly blunt, "Of course, see you then." Still the yoga pants and tight top were nowhere near as bad as the bloomers not that he would ever say anything about that to anyone.

"You two are doing what?" he glanced at Sona who had raised her head at hearing their conversion.

"We play basketball after school," Tsubasa said, "Gets rid of the energy."

Sona gave them an odd look but nodded "So long as you put away what you use."

"Of course Kaichou." Her gaze lingered on him for a moment and he thought he saw them narrow ever so slightly but that was all.

"Now if you will pardon me I need to deliver something to the Occult Research Club, odd how his life had shaped him. He very well knew the occult was real so he could say that with a straight face, like it was a reasonable thing.

"Well don't let me stop you" she stepped to the side gallantly and her gaze followed him until he left the room, odd girl that one. She must have appreciated someone to play ball with a lot, he admitted to himself that he was pleased to provide that and the view she gave him was not unpleasant either...stupid hormones.

Girls moved out of his way and whispered as he passed them, they either giggled or looked a little wary. The school rumor mill being what it was, he was the leader of not one, not two but three separate clans of the Yakuza, had either blackmailed or been blackmailed onto the student council where the glorious Onee-Sama of the school Sona Sitri was fighting a desperate battle to save his soul from darkness and yankeeism...or was that the tale from last week?

Was he the misunderstood loner now, with some dark deeds under his belt taken under the student council as a whole to be healed of his hurts and turned into a man. No that had been the first week….that was right he was a rich heir now from some bigshot family sent here under the disciplined eye of Sona Sitri to learn work ethics and be punished for his womanizing ways.

Ichigo did as he had always done with those rumors, he ignored them and remained indifferent to those who started them. In fact was he was decently sure who was spreading these rumors but had done nothing against them. If they were focused on him then that was something someone else did not have to deal with. Speaking of dealing with, "That's when I saw it" he rounded the corner to find three boys tucked against some lockers. He could see a magazine between them "Wow" A boy with brown hair whispered, "Look at them."

"Well, the title is Boobs International," the other boy said proudly "Can you believe someone would just throw this away, look at Mrs. Brazil." They crowded around it but froze at a long sigh from beside them. Slowly they looked up into Ichigo's scowling face. "H-h-hello Ichigo-san," The brown haired boy said using his body to hide the magazine.

"What is your name again," he asked.

"Issei Hyoudou" the boy replied.

"Right, Issei" he did not put any honorifics with the name "And Matusda" he looked at the other boy with the glasses "Motohama"

"How come you know our names but not his" Matsuda demanded, "That's rude."

"Issei is not the one talking about me behind my back," Ichigo said holding out his hand "Magazine"

"W-what Magazine" Motohama stuttered.

"I honestly do not care or want to know what you do in your free time outside of school, but you know the rules most likely better than I do. Not give me the magazine or you will be cleaning toilets for the month" The way he said, so bored and dull seemed to embolden them.

"Or what, your just a junior member of the student council, you don't have any power here."

Ichigo looked at him, really looked at him, a gaze that had seen death and violence, a war with creatures so powerful they would make mortals weep in fear. A gaze that had invaded heaven for the sake of a single friend, a gaze that had torn hell asunder for the sake of his sister. The gaze of a man who had given up everything for those he loved.

Motohama gulped as his breath seemed to be stolen from him, his heart pounding in sudden dread at the gaze held him trapped like a lion might a mouse. Issei broke the moment stepping between them, "Right, sorry we forgot" he reached behind and pulled the magazine. Ichigo took it with hardly a glance at the topless women on the front.

"This is your one warning," he said "And for future reference, Kaichou has given me full authority to act in her name. Remember that...and have a good day." He walked passed the three hearing their sighs of relief and took a quick detour into the teacher's lounge to use the shredder on the magazine. Honestly, he would have prefered not pay them a second glance but they were on school grounds. Besides what he had done was the least they could have expected from Sona herself...Saji might let them off but the rest would not, he had fallen somewhere in between.

When he came out the boy's were glaring at him, must have followed him to see what he would to with it, and they could have heard the shredder from outside the door. "You call yourself a man?" Motohama "This is what you took it for? I mean I could respect taking it for yourself but this?"

Ichigo scowled at them and it seemed to slow the boys somewhat, he could say from experience...abet unwilling experience that real ones were far better than what they could put on a magazine. Even if they were being put in your face without your consent.

 **(Somewhere a black cat sneezed)**

"You just destroyed our holy grail, are you happy?" were they still talking at him? He noted Issei was right in there with them, his eyes shining with an almost cultish light. "Do you not like Oppai" he half shouted as a group of girls walked passed them. All eyes turned in curiosity as Ichigo stared at the shameless brat.

"There are far more things to life and women then their chests" he said.

"So you're a butt man," Matsuda said.

His eyebrow developed a twitch and he bared his teeth as he spoke: "Are you trying to make me angry?"

"That was not a no," Issei said looking at him "I can respect that Ichigo-san, butts are good to just not as good as Oppai"

The anger rose up and threatened to explode, then as fast as it rose it faded away and he sighed shoulders dropping. A feeling of disgusted welling within himself for considering violence on those not offering any "Let me tell you something" he said "When you find someone you might love, hold on to them, not for something as simple as their looks. That can be a part of it, but then again when you love someone they always look lovely." he looked at them the thought of raven hair filtering through his thoughts "Hold on to that person because you can lose them and then nothing will matter not your words, or thoughts." he sighed.

The girls watching this all sighed as one looking at him differently now "Well that will not be a problem for me, because I will love many" Issei said voice growing louder "I will have my own harem someday I promise you that."

"And my attempt at guidance is a failure and I am going to leave," Ichigo said. Rolling his eyes and forced back the anger that rose again. Have multiple women like you romantically? You were lucky if you got one...why did he feel like a hypocritical saying that? It was not like he had several women who wanted that from him.

He stalked away from the trio as they all spoke there similar dreams to the horror and disgust of the girls watching them. Those three...had some growing up to do and thank the gods it was not his job to parent them. Sona might feel so but he certainly did not, he barely noticed the automatic doors open as he made his way to the old school building. Not for the first time he wondered why a club was given a whole building to perform their function. Perhaps it was the family connections, he had been there almost once a day for the past two weeks and Rias was a constant presence at the Sitri household.

He opened the door with his shoulder and walked in with the box he was to deliver, he could hear a shower in the background which told him there would be a wait to get this club's leaders signature for vast amount of flyers within said box. The building was decorated as one might a house with fine wooden furniture, perfectly painted walls, low thread count carpet floors. It was quite the sight as he walked into the main room and found the one person there that always seemed to be there when he was around. She was the second student with white hair in this school through she was far smaller than Momo. Her golden eyes turned to watch him as he entered her expression calm yet pleased...like a cat. He sat the box down and pulled a lollipop out of his pocket tossing it to the girl.

The first time he had seen her he had assumed she was his sisters age, she had been standing outside a local candy store eyeing the treats inside. He did not know how long she had been standing there, Ichigo himself had been grabbing something to send him to Karin and Yuzu. In that state of mind, it had not been much at all to grab one of the candies she has been eyeing and handing it to her as he left.

Imagine his surprise when he met her as a member of the occult club or found out she was only a year younger than him...freaking Yuzu was taller than she was and with puberty on full swing was almost more developed than her. Anyway she has not said a word that second time just walked up looking expectant and when she discovered he had no candy to give she had sat down on the couch with a look of disappointment on her face... So nowadays he kept a lollipop or other hard candy on hand and made it a point to give her one when he saw her. He did not know much about her really, just that her name was Koneko Toujou, that she was a student and she liked candy.

"Delivery for Rias"

She motioned with her head back the direction the shower sounds were coming from "I figured" he took a seat at the couch opposite from Koneko and pulled out a textbook to read over next week's assignment. Koneko did as she always did and watched him from her spot, never making an attempt to speak, never growing board. Like a cat watching a water faucet that is turned on, it had been slightly uncomfortable at first but he had quickly grown used it. Mr adaptable that was him, and he was a good six pages in when the water turned off followed by the sounds of drying.

The door opened and he glanced up, Rias Gremory was wearing a long yellow robe not made with a chest her size in mind... he stared only for a second at the physics defying bounce before turning away "How many times do you take a shower a day" he asked to cover his lightly flushing cheeks.

The girl did not lose a single step, or seem to care at all how exposed she was "As many as I need to feel clean" she replied in a nasally false voice.

His face under control he got up and knowing where to look now faced her focusing on her forehead as he got up and put the box down on her desk"Delivery of the flyers you wanted made" he handed her the clipboard. Rias sighed and went over to her desk plopping down and searching for a pin. "How did you sisters enjoy the gifts I suggested?"

"Well considering you bought them a PlayStation Four and told me to give it to them...they loved it through dad was wondering where I got the money for that."

"Oh, and what did you tell your dad?"

"That some rich girl was trying to get on my good side because i'm a Casanova like that" she snorted...he really should stop trying to joke he told himself and shook his head "I told him that it was a gift to my sisters from a friend who enjoyed hearing stories about them...and then I had to tell him it was a girl because he got worried." he put his hand on his face "And that opened up a whole other can of worms."

Rias made an annoyed sound "I empathize, If I mention the name of a boy to my brother and he gets all psycho protective."

She gestured at a seat and Ichigo sat down, small hands tugged on his arm and he glanced down to see Koneko there gold eyes filled with want. He shook his head and handed her a jawbreaker and listened as she went back to the couch. "You spoil her you know," Rias said finding her pen. Ichigo was busy focusing on her crimson hair rather than the partially open bathroom "It's not good for her"

"Bouchou," the girl said from her spot face full of disapproval.

"It's not, now she looks forward to you dropping by more than me and I keep the candy bowl full" the words were teasing and good-natured.

Koneko sighed got up from her couch and walked over to Rias and gave her a hug "Thank you" she said and went back to her spot her voice low and unchanging.

"That's better" she sniffed "I deserve respect around her"

"Perhaps you should start with clothing" he suggested.

"And miss the chance to see you squirm as you try to look everywhere but where you want to...for shame Ichigo Kurosaki." Annoyance sparked in him and he turned his gaze to her full chest staring as hard as he could at those ludicrous mounds of quite enticing flesh. He tried his hardest to make her blush or turn away or do something to acknowledge how it was uncomfortable but the girl just grinned and leaned forward to give a better view. He broke and turned his head away "Your gonna do some damage one day" he said.

Rias giggled "You, despite your appearance are too nice for me to take that as a threat."

"I can never win with girls like you" he sighed "You and Yoruichi you two would get along."

"Who is that?"

"One of my former teacher with a bad habit of walking in on me naked and I mean like butt naked, seriously her confidence makes you look like a Nun."

"Hmm butt naked is a pretty big step up" she agreed "Perhaps when I am older."

"Or not at all, that is an option."

"And miss out on your expression of panic, I think not," she told him her voice filled with mock offense.

He sighed and reached out his hand for the clipboard "Not yet" she told him wagging her pen "How goes your life at Sona's mansion?"

"Fine" he sighed "I make dinner most nights now and we have some nice….proper talks with less flesh on display."

"Oh I don't know about that, I heard you do morning calisthenics shirtless" she tutted at him "Shame on you giving Sona a free show but me who has worked so hard nothing."

"I am not a free show, she reads her books when she is on the porch"

"Hmm perhaps if you back is considered a book, cause I don't think The original Tao Te Ching would make her blush every time I bring it up."

"That is just because you have not corrupted her yet."

"Who says I need it, she is like me after all and you are not bad to look at when you smile...or when you don't if I'm in the right mood."

"Are you flirting with me?" he asked hand across his heart.

"Why yes" she answered hand across hers.

They held that stare then both laughed a few times "Perhaps if things were different" she told him.

"Same" he agreed

She handed him his clipboard "So in a few days we are going to hand out flyers, could you mention that to Sona-dear so she knows ahead of time."

"I will tell her" he stood up "Though if it is my guess she already knows...may I ask a question?"

She stood as well "Sure"

"What does the Occult Research Club do?"

Rias just smiled and somehow managed to make it mysterious "Occult Research" she confided in him as if it was some great secret. He opened his mouth to say more when the weight of her chest proved too much for the yellow bathrobe to bear. The ribbon slipped and the robe split open, two orbs bouncing at the sudden freedom. Her face went red and Ichigo did the quickest about-face the room had ever seen, through the image was burned into his brain. "I will be going now" he said back turned away from Rias's crimson face, her arms cupped protectively around her breasts.

As he felt the old school house, he had to take a moment to compose himself, to let his face lose the flush that covered it, what had he said about himself two weeks ago? Inoculated against the looks of women...how arrogant. "Note to self, lose some pride" he childed and walked off towards the school where the chests were big but covered up.

1

1

1

"Bouchou I do not understand?"

Rias finished dressing fully and glanced at her diminutive Rook "What?

"Why do you tease him like that?"

The crimson princess of ruin shook the last of the water out of her mane of hair "Is that jealousy I hear Koneko?"

The Rook did not change expressions even slightly, she suckled at the candy pop that he had given her and watched her with golden eyes. "Do you know how much he is worth Koneko, when I and Sona look at him with the King's sight." the girl shook her head "Eight, eight whole points, which means Sona could not take him as a devil even if she wanted to, she does not have the right amounts. But what is interesting is that we cannot figure out why. He might possess a sacred gear but we should have been able to sense it by now. He for all we can tell is just...a human. A very striking one but human all the same" Rias sighed "He is an enigma but he is also pleasant company, and in answer to your question." She smiled like Loki the trickster "Because I felt like it."

Koneko made a sound of disapproval "You are jealous" Rias said grinning "Aww is he your first crush?"

The words did cause a shift in Koneko but little more "He is nice ." the girl said no more but the fact that she complimented him was a good sign.

Rias walked to a window and looked out at his retreating back, perhaps if her true conquest was not here he might be worth the risk. But known quantity trumped unknown every time, her gaze shifted to another boy, speaking to his two friends in a very animated fashion. He had the same number over his head, eight, eight points and she at least knew why.

There was time however to do that, Sona had agreed to stay out of her way in this matter, not that it meant much as she has no room for an eight-point piece. She smiled as the three reacted to Ichigo's presence by yelling at him while leaping away at the same time. The tall boy hardly gave them a glance, and her gaze drifted back to Issei who looked up and around as if he could feel someone watching. Soon, soon would be the time for his induction, there was just the matter of letting him come to it himself.

1

1

1

When school ended the place fell into a silence as the students left for the day, only those assigned to clean or in trouble would be left and after an hour or two even they would be gone. The place might have been eerie to some and with good reason. There was a place however that has started seeing its fair share of activity besides the Occult Research Club.

The Gymnasium echoed with the sounds of a basketball, a tall blue haired girl moving with speed and grace on the cusp of human potential. Matched by a taller boy doing the same, Ichigo was utterly focused he had to be, Tsubasa was simply amazing. She was faster than him by a hair, more gracefully by far and from the times they had collided as strong or stronger.

Ichigo was about as good at basketball as he was at any physical sport he tired, which was to say at the very top of good bordering on best. It honestly was not that hard when you had reflexes trained to dodge sword blows and catch blades. His mind still worked as if he was still a creature of power, it was his only advantage against this girl. The ball seemed to blur she was dribbling so fast, her lithe body swaying side to side eyes bright and alight with the rush of compilation.

He stayed with her, finding her rhythm watching her hands move her shoulders shift, if she got around him she would score, if he missed a steal she would score, if he was a second too late against her jump shot she would score. She was better than him by far which made this interesting, just by playing these evenings he was getting better as well.

Ichigo moved before Tsubasa, her body had turned ever so slightly and her eyes shifted from him to the goal. He swiped his hand at where the ball would be and was rewarded with the touch of rubber, catching the ball and spinning stepping past the blue-haired girl. He heard a curse as he shot off like a sprinter, one step, two step, three step, then she had caught just as he passed the half court line and was about halfway to the three-point line. He jumped as high as he could and shot, trusting his aim and the swish was confirmation enough of it.

"Damn" She breathed, the had been going at this for half an hour and she only looked slightly winded whereas he was soaked in sweat. "How do you keep doing that?"

"Your" he breathed "Predictable."

"You say that every time, 20 to 8 by the way"

"Your favor I know" he replied, the score was that way because she was simply better than him and that was fine. She retrieved the ball rolling it across her fingers with an ease that was almost contemptuous. "Well let's go," she said.

The door opened and they both stopped, looking to see Sona Sitri walk into the gym with her ever-present aid Tsubaki at her side. Her eyes swept them lingering on Tsubasa very tight getup, grey yoga pants, tight black top, showing every curve of her body to anyone that looked. Her expression of one of disapproval "Kaichou" the girl said easily.

"Tsubasa-san, Ichigo-san," she said to both of them.

"Decided to drop by and see what was going on?" Her dark blue eyes sparkled.

"Indeed, we might be allowed more privileges here than others but I would be remiss if I did not make sure my own were acting responsibly." She looked at her fellow council member "And you clothing violates several dressing codes." Ichigo refrained from asked what code was there that allowed school uniforms so short in the skirt.

"Come on Kaichou school is over, we can relax can't we?"

"Yes but this is completely inappropriate, what would you say if someone saw you two like this, or took pictures?"

"Beat them to a bloody pulp?" she offered helpfully.

"No you are to refrain from assaulting the student body," Sona said, "Your normal gym clothing would be far more modest." Ichigo would have paled if he had the wind, he was never good with bloomers, in his opinion, the yoga pants were far less distracting than those small blue pieces of cloth.

"But this is not gym class Kaichou, it's just a boy and a girl having a good time and shooting some hoops."

"Then you will need to find something that does not look like it was painted on, you represent me Tsubasa Yura. You're part of my council, you are part of my family and while we stand on these grounds you must represent yourself as such."

The words had their intended effect and Tsubasa looked down and away "Yes Kaichou"

"And you" She looked at him.

"Not, my, idea" he gasped.

"He did say that he thought it was a bit too tight" She smirked "Trying to be a gentleman when he wants to stare it is not healthy you know."

"Yura," Sona said warningly.

The blue haired girl stepped back, hands moving protectively over her butt "Right, I will Kaichou though I do not have anything right now except the school uniform. Can I at least finish today out?"

Sona seemed to relent "Yes, yes you may through since I am here would you two like to play against myself and Tsubaki."

Tsubasa grinned like a loon "With pleasure Kaichou" she said not waited for his input, though he found no reason not to go along with it. That was until Sona and Tsubaki returned from the changing rooms in tie shirts and bloomers.

"Gods above," he said pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What," Tsubasa said moving next to him.

"Nothing" he sighed and stepped out into the court.

Yura studied him for a moment glancing at him and their opponents then shrugged "You can start Kaichou"

He was not surprised when the instant Sona caught the ball she and Tsubaki moved as one, by instinct Yura went to face her boss and he wound up toe to toe with Tsubaki. Sona did not even look as she passed the ball into the girl's hand. It had caught him by surprise as she had not looked over at the ball either, just suddenly moving her hands to catch it. From her movements, he saw at once that like Yura she was faster than him, that her grace suppressed him and that she was good at basketball as well. He tried to find her rhythm but having never played her before she got past him in a blur of basketball as he bought the fake drive and she went around him. Tsubasa was there at once to intercept but Tsubaki threw the ball to a now open Sona who jumped in a perfect layup. It also put her bloomers at eye level and he turned way ashamed at his interest. Good gods, he had been glad when his old school had abandoned that item in lue of standard gym uniforms for all. It had made gym class a whole lot easier and less embarrassing, "Good try" Tsubasa said misreading him motion "It's our drive now"

She took off and he did his best to keep up as the girl charged there opponents like a bull, they matched her however and almost got the ball from her. But a back pass gave him the ball and an open if long range three point shot that bounced once before going in. He moved back ahead of Yura, knowing their opponents were too fast to match. Tsubasa stalled her Kaichou in a blur of skill that he through would easily be top level. The ball flew out into Tsubaki's waiting hands and she caught her legs tense in the instant before she jumped and was met by his hand grazing the ball knocking it off course. Sona read the motion and was on the rebound before Tsubasa could block she sank another shot putting them at four three.

This time he had the ball as they moved up the court, Tsubaki matching him up as he reached the half court. It was here her skill seemed to lack in the defense he dodged her steal attempt and sent a bounce pass to Tsubasa who dunked it over Sona's head. "No Dunking" she wanted pointing up to the letters set on the goal.

"My bad" Yura looked bashful "I forgot in my excitement."

"Don't let it happen again, we of all people hear must control ourselves"

The words had weight and Tsubasa nodded "Yes Kaichou" no hint of laughter or mock in her voice.

The next few minutes were bad for him and Tsubasa, they were down by nine points before he found Tsubaki's rhythm and was finally able to put up and effective defense. The first time he stole the ball from her she reacted with more surprise than he expected. Tsubasa caught his lob of a pass that went over her and Sona and put another two points their way.

The next play when Tsubaki got the ball back he stalemated her through was not able to get the ball, Sona had been given the ball back but Tsubasa was her equal in physical areas and her better in skill blocked the shot into him and with a simple pass managed to reach the goal and put it Sona having trouble blocking due to the height difference.

She got revenge on the next shot with a long-range three that bumped them up to eighteen points, only three away from winning. Tsubasa passed the ball to him as they reached there side and he made as if to shoot, so far he was two for two on the three-point line and Tsubaki was ready and in the air as his feet left the ground. Sona had bought the bluff as well having turned away from her opponent to go for the rebound. Neither were ready for the bounce pass that Tsubasa caught and turned into a three-point shot. Bringing the score twelve to eighteen, Ichigo was feeling the burn as the two girls came hurling up the court. His focus never changed through and he still managed to stall Tsubaki leaving Yura and Sona to fight it out, the three-pointer that could have ended the game missed and he snatched it a hair's breadth before Tsubaki could. She slipped on the wooden floor and even then only enough to lose balance for a moment. But it was enough for him to put on a burst of speed that sent fire through his lungs and got him close enough for a three-point shot. Sona narrowly missed blocking it as she jumped much higher than her body size would have suggested. The score turned fifteen to eighteen, but in the very next few seconds Tsubaki shifted her rhythm and got past him sinking a layup and making the score twenty to fifteen.

"We got this" Tsubasa said looking slightly winded for the first time he could remember "We got this" she took his pass was off like a shot, only to have her ball stolen by Sona's quick hands leaving him as the last line of defense. He was surprised with the ease he found her rhythm and managed to position himself between her and the goal which did not stop her from leaping five feet in the air catching him off guard and shooting in the game-winning shot. But her excitement she overextended, spinning in the air and plating her ass on his face and knocking him to the ground. He fully expected his nose to break but she was surprisingly plush for all her appearance.

Still, a pair of bloomers was on his face and he crossed his legs at once making a sound of pain as all her weight settled on him. He heard a yelp of shock, the soft butt was off his face half a second later as Sona scrambled to her feet face ablaze with...well he hoped it was not fury. He sat up pulling his legs up to his chest "Ouch" he muttered rubbing his nose which while not broken has still taken a shock. "Sorry about that."

The words seemed to shake from whatever state she had been it "No, no" she shook her head "That my fault, not yours"

"No" he huffed "Problem" and leaned back against the wall it just figured that he could get a little problem from a stupid accident. The sensation brought back similar memories from when his school had differing uniforms.

"Ya Kaichou" Tsubasa gasped "What was that about control?"

"I did not lose control," Sona said seemingly unaffected by the exertion "I merely misjudged how quickly Kurosaki-san would react." she nodded at him her flushed face still bright with embarrassment "You have superior reflexes."

"Ya thanks," he said as he looked at them all his little problem growing bigger. "Through" he added I think I'm done for the day, I'm gonna rest here for a few."

"Hah," Yura said "Wimp"

"Sure" he breathed "Let's go with that"

To his annoyance, all three of the girls moved to sit next to him against the wall "That was quite fun" Tsubaki said, her eyes were on him, on the way he was sitting and how. When her eyes flashed with amusement he got a sinking feeling in his chest.

"That was quite invigorating," Tsubaki said, "Enough to give one a rise, eh Kurosaki."

He did not answer or react to the statement, it was his only ploy right now "Is this why you run around every morning" Sona asked her breathing only slightly faster "This rush?"

"Somewhat" he agreed "Through I would like to know what you three do to get in the shape you are in"

"Ichigo,-san you must leave girls their secrets"

"Right, then how about why are you not professional players."

"Basketball is just a hobby," Sona said "I have a different goal in mind for my life"

"I would get bored way too fast," Tsubasa said, "Your pretty good yourself thought, you ever think of the professional play?"

"Perhaps, I don't really have any plans for my life right now. It's part of the reason why I am here."

Sona looked at him and caught his eye, "And we will do our best to help you, that is our purposes at this place. You have a lot of talent Kurosaki-san and there are infinite ways you can use it." The words made sent sparks of heat through his body, which his lower half read as aroused….gods dammit her outfit was not helping.

He pulled up his legs closer and looked away "We will all help" Tsubaki said supporting her friend "No matter how hard it gets we will stick up for you." Well at least someone was having a good day with bad puns, still, he scowled at her which seemed to amuse her more than anything. Sona at least did not seem to notice small mercy.

She sighed "This has been fun, as we need to head home Rias is meeting me later and I cannot be late." She reached out a hand for him.

"I'll wait here for a little bit," he told her, letting his heavy breathing do its work to show his current state "I apparently don't have the endurance you girls have, I need a bit longer to rest but I will see you at your home." She looked like she almost decided to stay which would have been bad, but a meeting with Rias was important to her so she nodded.

"Hurry home then otherwise you won't get to use the baths before its ten."

"Would not miss that for the world" and that was the truth her house baths were divine. "Just need to catch my breath." With a last nod, Sona and Tsubaki turned to leave and Ichigo closed his eyes before his gaze became locked on their backsides.

He waited for the doors to close before breathing a sigh of relief "You know" he almost jumped as Tsubasa spoke, "I wonder if I should feel insulted, here I am all dressed up nice and sexy and the only one you seem to react to is Kaichou."

His face reddened and he said nothing save for a small growl "But that was only after she slammed you in your face but still, I've never seen you react to me like that."

What was with this girl? "I am in control of myself," he said regretting the words instantly.

"Apparently not Ichigo-San" his body was calming down finally now that the source of his embarrassing was gone. "Still have not seen you react at all before this which is weird in its own way, don't get me wrong you are way to wound up."

"Why are we talking about this?" he asked.

"Hmm, so perhaps it was just the butt to the face there is that rumor you are a butt man going around."

"What did I do to piss you off?"

"No, you were in control most of the game through…" her eyes sparkled "Bloomers, you winched when those two came out, you only rolled your eyes at my get up."

"I-I-I'm leaving," he said standing up and almost running away from the girl.

"Wow, you are packing," she said from behind him eyes taking all of him in.

"Shut up" he hissed.

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone, we all have the things that turn us on" he almost tripped as she caught up to him crossing the length of the Gym in a few steps. "So long as we can keep playing, this is" she twirled her hair with on her pointer finger and looked almost embarrassed "This most fun I have had with a guy in while." The one eighty in attitude was enough to snap his neck, it was almost as shocking as the speed at which she had caught up to him, had that even been human speed? "Look sorry about that, I get carried away teasing sometimes and...no offense but you have this unflappable vibe that is really fun to shake up."

"Uh" he replied smoothly not knowing how to respond to that, he forced himself to stop, to breath and get some air into his nonfunctioning brain. "I...get it, I don't like it but I get it, and this is fun for me too...can we pretend this never happened and call it even?"

She held out her arm "Deal" they traded grips and she tugged at him with surprising strength pulling him against her. His body which had almost calmed down when full Defcon three at the sudden touch, the closeness, the heat. she grinned "Ok good my pride has been salved" she let go of him and walked passed "Don't read to much into this, by the way, I'm a terrible flirt."

"Mostly with girls from what I have seen" he muttered.

To his surprise, she went red from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair " I can't help it if the girls at this school seem to have some inexplicable attraction to my looks."

"Never said you could"

She growled and looked at his face still red "I like boys despite whatever the rumors say, its just I have not had anyone to tease in a while. Saji's like a brother, the perverted trio was out of the question and if tried anything with Kiba, Fuka Kaichou and Reya would roast me, so like it or not you're the only boy I can have fun with."

That...that did help him make some sense of the situation "I will keep that in mind Tsubasa Yura"

"See to it that you do" she nodded him still red-faced and stalked off "See you tomorrow for another game, I'll wear my bloomers next time."

Ichigo Kurosaki watched the doors close as he attempted to melt them with his scowl alone but had not such like. He turned and made his way to the locker room, he would need an artic shower before he was ready to leave. Making his way there he muttered vengeful about confusing girls, stupid gym uniforms and most of all his stupid get hard at the drop of a hat lower half. Had anyone listened they would have heard a string of obscenities that would have made a sailor blush as he turned on the arctic cold water and at least settled his issues with control. This...this was his life now, a month ago fighting monsters, now dealing with hormonal flirts...oh how the mighty had fallen far. It was not like it had been present or...he stopped the tsundere thought before it could finish. He forced himself to rationally admit that except for the last bit the evening had been pleasant and exciting. He would just have to accept that and move on..and move on he would. He had some homework to finish, a bath to take and work to do tomorrow so he would face forward. "This is my life now" he said "And I will accept it, and appreciate it even if it was just flirting and nothing more." that resolved he opened himself up to the freezing water and let it cleanse him, he noted as he did so that he had avoided thinking about hollows all day until now… so yay progress?


	3. Chapter 2

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Ichigo Kurosaki did not see his day starting in the changing room of the all-women kendo club. Honestly, he wondered why this was his job and not one of the many females on the council, the girls here glared at him as he transgressed on their holy ground or at least that was what Issei had called it when he saw him walk into it.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Student Council," he said, the words rote by this point and they were all fully dressed naturally but they were looking at him like he would rip it off of them...or they were just mad which was reasonable.

One of the girls was fully dressed in the club garb with there wooden bokken at the ready. "Your club leader is Katase Yuna?"

The girl with brown pigtails nodded at him "I have been sent by Sona Sitri to look the...incident" he decided not say aloud anything about the picture "Also fair warning given the nature of this...I have seen the evidence however that was only so I could do this"He walked over to the lockers before they could speak and pointed "Whose is this?"

"You, you pervert," one of the girls said as his words caught up with them, she covered herself as if he could see through her clothing.

"Whose locker is this," he said again looking at the club leader, the girl looked utterly engaged but still answered "Hana Niki but she's overseas"

"Well That makes sense" he muttered pulling out the master key and opening it drawing cries of alarm, he reached in and drew out a towel along with...something else. It was an odd thing, looking like a webcam but with a longer lens, the locker almost tipped over as several wires were pulled out with it. "Before I came over, Kaichou, Fuka Kaichou, and I looked over the pictures to see if we could get the angle from which they were shot at...anyone good with electronics here because I am not?"

"A smaller younger girl nodded shyly raising her hand "Could you unplug this without damaging it?"

There was a snarl and he found himself facing Katase with her kendo stick raised and hurtling towards his head, his body reacted automatically to such a threat, the winter war saw to that. Even if he was a human now, his battles with Aizen would forever have lasting scars. In his mind it was not a fake sword, it was real for a brief instant. He slapped it aside on the flat of the blade with his palm, his other hand clenching into a fist and snaking forward to...he halted the blow as the bokken was slid across the room and his fist hovered halfway to Katase's face, the girl had gone pale as a ghost which was understandable.

He lowered his arm "My apologies" he honestly did not know what else to say, he sat down what he assumed was a camera. "I have been attacked by those before, what to do with them is reflex." Katase took a step back this time a lot less threatening.

"W-why" she seemed to find her voice again through it held a lot more wariness now "Why do you want to keep it, why not break it?"

"You do want to find who has done this right?"

"Everyone knows who did it, there are only five boys that's not a lot of suspects" Ichigo shrugged and motioned for the younger girl to come forward and unplug it.

"There are more men on this campus then the five students," he said walking to the other end of the room and hunkering down to under the bench at the end, he traced the spot where there was a little less dust but no camera was there anymore. "One was here but it has been moved" He glanced back at the girls "Could you help me look for two other camera, the one here might have been moved to somewhere else and you know this room better than I do." He did however had one more place to look and pulled out a screwdriver to unscrew the air vent and found another camera this one battery powered.

The was a shout of horror as one of the girls found one in the showers and another over the toilets. Needless to say, they were very agitated and after a heavy searching met him back in the locker room proper "When we find whoever did this" Katase said her voice filled with pure venom "We will"

"Call us….if you find the person." he said interrupting her "Kaichou wants to hear nothing of random gangs of school girls beating the crap of people with sticks am I clear?"

Their expression told him his words were falling on deaf ears, well he would just have to give his opinion to Sona. "Hey Ichigo!" if his ears could have they would have flattened in annoyance they would have, Motohama, Issei and Matsuda were coming towards him and behind him, all the eyes of the kendo girls were locked as if they were lionesses spotting rabbits. "How dare you enter that sacred ground, you who have no way of properly appreciating," Matsuda said with pure jealousy.

The tension behind him skyrocketed "Ya I'll bet you did not even try to" Matsuda said with a creepy smile.

He moved to get ahead of what was about to happen"I would suggest" he said calmly "The three of you turn around and walk the other way."

"Or what you beat our asses, your student council you can't do that."

"You misunderstand me" he started to say

"Hey Perverted Trio!" He did not know who said it but it seemed to come from the kendo club as a whole. The three finally looked past him into the eyes of death that were blazing their way, "We found the cameras, you, you" Katase gripped her retrieved bokken "You bastards"

"Cameras?" Motohama asked "Someone had cameras in there!" his face contorted into a look of respect "The balls they had."

Any sympathy for what might happen vanished as Matsuda put his hand over his heart "Respect" he intoned like a holy word. Only Issei looked a little perturbed though that might have been the approaching mob.

"No," he said looking back at the girls "This will not happen" they stopped as his gaze swept over them, eyes that had seen and lost more than they ever had. Glancing back at the three "You disgust me" he said calmly "Do you three even stop to consider what this kind of thing will do to a person." There was a pause from the first two then a shrug, only Issei took a step back and Ichigo could feel the approaching mob behind him.

"Run," he said

Issei turned and took off at top speed and thankfully some of his good sense, as small as it was, rubbed off on the other two who took off after him. His eyes stopped the kendo girls from following again none could bring themselves to meet his gaze for longer than a moment. "This is not how it is done" he said "Put your sticks away or I will have you club disbanded for the foreseeable future" That was a bluff as he did not think he had that authority but these girls believed it and with mutterings of anger moved back to their locker room no doubt to give it another through once over.

His heart slowed at last as he leaned back against the wall "That was very well done" he jumped at the voice turning to find Sona walking up next to him. Odd how he had not seen her, he could see the rest of the student council following through at a wave of her hand they turned around. "Saw what was happening on the school security," she told him watching the retreating Kendo girls.

"I told them if they did anything I would disband there club...which I don't think I can do"

"You can't" she agreed "But I can, and I would….through I would prefer if you did not use that threat often."

He nodded "I will remember that"

"Still you handled that with grace, I am curious what you would have done if it had not worked?"

"Tried to stop them bodily" he answered truthfully.

"Do you think you could have done that?" she sounded curious.

"Yes," he said without rancor or pride, only pure hard fact. "That kind of fight is the kind I have been doing my whole life, though I had not expected to find it here…." he shook his head "Speaking of finding unpleasant things" he handed her the bag "These are the cameras we expected to find plus two more. They jumped to the conclusion that it was those three and while they are..unique I do not think they have the capacity to do this at least not without getting caught."

"I have a list of all the people who have access to the room, though now they will not come back to it I think."

"We should to a school sweep," Ichigo said "The pictures were claimed to be hacked from somewhere, whoever it did not want them to get out. It makes me think there might be more" Sona's expression was dark "We will look into that" she promised, "When school ends we will all stay late to search."

"Do we know anyone who is good with electronics and or computers"

She pursed her lips in thought "Perhaps, if not I will hire someone." She nodded "Yes that will work...I am curious who you think might be responsible the only staff are teachers at this school and if as you think that those three students did not do it, then who?"

"I did not say that no student did it, only those three and I could be wrong...in fact" his mind worked at the thought in his head "If I was looking to shift blame I would use them, send them pictures I know they would look at and use...I know this would be asking a lot but do you think you could call them to meet the student council. Inform them of just how much of a crime this is and that if they receive anything related to this they need to save the source and bring it to us." He winced "I don't know how you will get them to do it they are...focused in there wants."

"I will think on how to do that"

The started walking back to the council room "Your insights are interesting." She told him "How do they normally turn out?"

"I don't know, I'm just speaking my thoughts." Plus he had to watch Aizen's scheme come into place if he had retained anything from that it was the knowledge of just how much could be manipulated, how facts could be distorted and lies become reality...it made an impression that was for sure. "Again I could be wrong," he said, "It could have been one of those three and I am just underestimating them."

"I know" She replied, "Truthfully I do not think they did it either but they are the most obvious suspects so we will look into them of course."

He accepted that as the truth it was, after all by know the whole school knew about their...fantasies as they were very vocal about it. So far that had not done anything too stupid but it was only a matter of time.

"Kaichou" Saji called as they reached the student council room "Mai Tanaka is here for your meeting."

Sona winced "Right, I am late" she nodded at him and hurried into the office carrying the cameras with her.

"That's the president of the computer club correct?" Ichigo asked.

Saji nodded "She wants to upgrade her clubs computers to the latest tech and Kaichou is working out the details with her, the school pays part and they pay part."

"I see" he waved as he walked away heading to his gym class, the student council could be late for classes and they very often were but Sona made it clear that they were to use all haste if that was the case.

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The Gym Coach Alexander was running them through the laps when he slipped in with them, the man was American, ex-army that had been stationed in Japan. He was about as fluent in Japanese as a native, which went at odds with his blonde buzz cut hair. He was well muscled and had a rough quality that had a lot of the female students looking to him as a possible match.

From what he had heard the man would only consider college students at the absolute youngest as candidates for a date, Ichigo remembered an amusing story about a child who had been passed so many grade levels she has been thirteen and attending college. She has heard about the coach's rule of dating and thought it would be amusing to take him up on it. The man had stayed true to his word and gave her one date, then added that you had to be over eighteen despite the age of consent being sixteen in this area of Japan.

He had sharp blue eyes that noticed him join the moment he arrived, but Ichigo had proved he was willing to put in the effort. The man held up five fingers and Ichigo nodded continuing his laps after the others had finished to make up for the ones he had missed. The coach let the others rest until he was done.

Once caught up he went the rest of the class through various exercises and games, another feature of this class was that Yuuto Kiba was part of it and it made for an interesting look into what the girls here preferred. There was about one third who liked the pretty boy look, a third that liked the Coach's rugged countenance and a third that might have been looking at both or neither. He knew this because it came up in there conversion fairly often as each camp pushed their ship, perhaps the third camp was the group that wanted to see Kiba and the Coach as a paring.

Ichigo shuttered at the memory of helping Reya moderate the Academy Forums, as it turned out some of these girls in private were just as bad as the Perverted Trio. Thank the heavens he had not been given that job again there were some things he did not want to know.

"Ok time for Swords" the Coach called, the man was an instructor in the art of Kendo through he tended to let the students have fun with the weapons as long as they were wearing the garb and did not hit too hard. It was a refreshing change of pace from pull ups and sit ups, "Ichigo Kurosaki, Yuuto Kiba" he called looking at his list "You two are first."

They had not spoken much, though they had been around each other by virtue of being the only men in this section of the class there had been more than a little outrage when the Coach had started pairing them together for team exercises. But in Kiba's case when the girl you are helping started making orgasmic sounds it tended to distract from the class.

Neither of them had felt the need to speak as they worked through these two weeks as workout partners. It was comfortable and almost like being back home hanging out with Chad, while there appearances could not have been more different something in their manner was similar. Though when he was walking to school Yuuto proved to be far more talkative to the girls who actually spoke to him coherently.

This would be the first time sparring however and he wondered if the boy would be any good, he picked up his weapon holding it in two hands his body shifting to a familiar stance. It was not as long as Zangetsu but its weight was close, he had to ignore the pain at that thought flaring through him at the memory. Across from him, Kiba took his own stance and Ichigo knew at once the boy had training. They sized each other up neither moving as the Coach nodded at them and repeated the rules. "And last of all no attacks at the crotch level" the man nodded at them "Go"

Kiba exploded into action covering the distance between them quickly, he fainted high and went low for his belly, Ichigo tilted his blade down catching the blow and letting it slide off the blade. The boy spun quickly avoiding the return strike and their blades clashed with a loud crack.

Gods above this boy was strong, like physically strong, their blades straining and Ichigo found himself overpowered. Just like Sona, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, his appearance and his power simply did not match. He pulled back blocking two blows that sent shivers of pain up his arms, he pulled back buying a few steps pushing back his surprise.

This was not the first time he had faced a being stronger than he, at the next blow he dodged with a quick step and flicked a light blow at Kiba's head. The boy blocked and attempted to lock blades again but Ichigo gave ground stepping into a circular pattern. He tilted his head past a lighting quick strike and his wooden blade struck the chest of his opponent, one point to him.

That actually seemed to take Kiba aback, to surprise him and... it made him smile like a kid who had just found a new favorite food. The fight returned in earnest as he seemed to stop holding back. Ichigo found himself on the complete defensive, jumping, dodge, avoiding. His reflexes were just fast enough to keep him ahead through Kiba was starting to see through his movements. Without the flash step, his normal fighting would not work. He deflected a blow and began his own attack, Kiba making use of his better strength to simply block the attacks and not waste energy. One area where he had the advantage was height and reach using the several inches it provided him for all they were worth. The Bokken cracked echoing all over the gym, the others had stopped to watch. Ichigo took a risk catching a blow on the hilt and cutting down at the masked head. Quicker than he could have managed Kiba dodge backward his blade out of position Ichigo following with his fastest thrust. Somehow Kiba twisted away throwing himself back landing on his hand and spinning on the palm landing his feet on the ground.

Had he not been Ichigo Kurosaki he would have lost a point right there, but while he was surprised by the display of near breakdance like skill his guard never waved as Kiba hit him with a one-handed swing. The blow cracked the wood on the bokken and knocked him spinning like he had been smitted by a Warhammer. His arms felt numb beyond the spars of pain dancing through them, he then noted the panicked look in Kiba's face as Ichigo slammed down on the mat. His roll was a lot less graceful as he took some small advantage of the moment to roll backwards on the mat and come to his face.

The panic was replaced by relief, Ichigo stared at him trying to recognize the force with the arm that has struck it and came up with nothing...nothing mortal at least. He was aware that humans did get powers sometimes perhaps it was one of those?"

Kiba made no move to attack letting Ichigo recover the feeling in his arms and good lord they hurt like nothing else. But they were not broken that was a plus, so he summoned his resolve pushed the pain back from the forefront and charged. He struck a blow aimed at the head waiting until the last possible moment to pull back in a spin falling to one knee and striking low. The boy had bought the feint and instead of trying to block he swung down, catching the mask with an almost gentle sword blow as his leg took the hit from the blade.

Two to one Ichigo's favor through in a real fight that head blow would have killed him, his swordplay learned in the crucible of combat had been made for a much faster, much stronger, Ichigo Kurosaki...he would need to start correcting that if he still wanted to mess around with the art.

But right now he did not have time to do that so he went back to basics, back to when he knew nothing but how to swing. Kiba came at him his blade cutting three slashes in quick but human speed. He swayed away from them and made a quick cut at Kiba's arm to force him to defend rather than attack, he was on the full defense now and only gave only the most basic of attacks to stop Kiba from going all out. He had to think, if he was indeed fighting a human with enchanted strength and speed he was going to lose unless he did something, did something drastic. His heart began to beat faster with excitement, he almost did not realize it when a smile crossed his face.

The weapons cracked against each other and he accepted the pain as the start of a plan began to form in his mind. With every chance he got he struck out at his opponent, Kiba scored the second point such was his efforts on offense. With every strike, he could feel the Bokken cracking and from the look in Kiba's eyes, he knew it too. *Crack, Crack, Crack* the sound was loud in the otherwise silent Gym. He noted his opponent was not slowing in the slightest, not looking tired, or even putting himself under any real strain physically. In fact, he was smiling back at him and his moves became smoother, less restrained, and the difficulty of blocking them went up. *Crack, Crack, Crack* he was only defending now any weakness in his defense would end the fight. *Crack, Crack, Crack* He was using everything he had catching blows, deflecting when he could, dodging but he was slowing down, his breathing labored, but the smile never left his face.

He took his moment before he would be too slow for it to matter, he had found Kiba's rhythm and saw the swing before it happened, he met it with his own attack with all of his considerable human strength. The result was inevitable as the weapon weakened from the fighting snapped under the force of Kiba's attack. It was the moment he had been waiting for, he did not hesitate, not even for a heartbeat. He pulled the remaining piece of the weapon and thrust forward in a single motion of his body placing the broken point against the hollow of Kiba's neck. "Three," he said just as Coach Anderson called the bout to a stop.

Kiba looked stunned, Ichigo kept on his feet breathing hard his arms aching with shivers of pain "Good Fight" he wheezed.

That seemed to bring him out of his trance and the smile stayed on his face, "That was well done Kurosaki-san" those were the first words he had heard sent his way from the boy. He held out his hand "I would love to spar you again if you have the time, you were incredible."

For a normal human, he thought then mentally berated himself for the uncharitable thought, "That sounds like fun" he looked at his shaking arms "When my arms stop hurting, you hit like a man five times your size"

There was only the lightest of flinches from him and Ichigo decided to let it go, perhaps he was just getting weak and assuming power in others. Or even if he was correct it was really none of his business. Still, that idea helped make sense of Sona, Tsubaki's and Tsubasa's apparent speed and power. Were there a lot of empowered humans here?

Perhaps, but again that was really not his concern, if they were here like this they clearly wanted to live a semi-normal life and that was fine by him. He walked back with Kiba after class hand ended up speaking with him about swordplay and giving tips on what they saw as a weakness in the other. The main point against him was that he was reckless, which was true "Where did you learn your swordplay?"

He shrugged " I had a mentor show me the basics for about a week then the rest was self-taught."

The boy shook his head "Then you are truly impressive Kurosaki-san, I would be my honor to spar you again, I truly mean that."

"When my arms stop hurting and when I have to time to do anything outside of the Student Council, I think I would enjoy that as well." It was an exercise in learning to dodge better at least. Kiba looked chagrined but said nothing. Still, the bout had been fun despite the pain, it has been like an itch he had been ignoring had been thoroughly scratched.

"Well, This is where our paths part I think as Kiba paused with the Occult Research Club building.

"I have English in a few minutes so I have to head that way." They shook hands before parting ways, as he walked away he got a look at just how many girls had their eyes on him, following his every move, how many of them were actually following him he was not sure. He shook his head, there were downsides to being a pretty boy, he stretched out a little as he made his way back to the main building. After English, he had some council work to help with followed by yet another class, yes he was a busy, busy, busy person, just what he needed here.

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The sun was almost below the horizon when the last of the student council returned to the council room, from the looks on their faces most of them had found what he had. "Two more in the Judo Club Changing room, three in the general boy's locker room for the pool."

Tomoe had none of her usual cheer, which was noticeable because before the start of the hunt she has been bouncing off the walls with her desire to hunt for hidden things. "Changing Room for girls swimming" she tossed two on the table "Tennis club four" she placed those on the table as well.

Saji pulled out eight looking a little green "Men's and women's restrooms eight"

Momo and Tsubaki tossed three more "Changing rooms in the auditorium stage"

Reya and Tsubasa each dropped six "No less than half from the Occult Club's residence three from the shower, and three in their restroom, the others were scattered across the smaller changing rooms and bathrooms across the school.

Sona Sitri looked...cool and composed her expression like a wall of iron "Eight" she said "All teacher areas"

"Forty-five cameras," Ichigo said "All wired into the school power and internet?" they all nodded.

"Whoever is doing this is indiscriminate to gender which made me wonder about age…" there was a moment of horrified silence as the same thought when they're all there heads.

"The elementary section" Ichigo voiced, fists curling up into balls.

"Thankfully I took the time to check and found nothing, though the same cannot be said for the college areas" she put down a bag "Add twenty to the number"

"Sixty-five" Sona breathed something molten in her voice, he watched as several members of the council shuttering at the sound. It was the first time he had heard that tone of her voice, it actually brought a bead of sweat to his neck. She took a breath "How was this able to happen without us noticing" she said more to herself than any of them. How did I miss this."

Ichigo turned over several of the cameras "The oldest is three years, so this could have been done slowly over time. That would be the easiest way to have pulled this off, one at a time every few days or weeks."

Sona tapped her hands on the table "Tsubaki I will need you to stay late with me tonight, I want to see if anyone has used school funding to obtain these times"

"Yes Kaichou"

She nodded, looking at the rest of them "Thank you for your efforts today you are all free to go" he watched the others stare at her. It was at that moment he realized they were truly hers, as a single person they moved to take their seats to help their leader in her quest.

She almost teared up at the sight, and Ichigo shook his head finding himself smiling. He understood why they had done what they had done. How long they had been a group he did not know but he would guess that it has been longer than their terms as the student council.

While he would make no claim as to love, Sona Sitri for all her serious demeanor, cared. She cared about this school, about the students, about her council, her friends, she cared about them all. And there was more than that he saw in her, that anger at the injustice, the wrongness of what they had discovered. He felt that anger too, how much more was her anger, she who had known these students for years while he was only two weeks in. In her, he sensed a kindred spirit, someone that desired to protect, to cherish, to grow the ones around her.

He would help these people, he would help Sona Sitri in her goals while he was here, he might not be a true member of this group but they had not treated him like anything less than one of them. Perhaps in time, they would become friends. Sona seemed to sense his stare and turned "Yes?"

He wondered how long he had been staring, he shook his head looking over all the students there, nothing that Saji was giving him an evil eye probably for staring at his crush for too long. "They are lucky to have you" was all he said.

The statement brought up a choir of agreement and for some reason, it brought a blush to her ivory cheeks "Enough" she said cutting them off "If you are going to stay get to work." She almost fled to her desk but he had the time to notice a single tear fall down her cheek.

Even though he was not truly part of them yet he felt for the first time like he had a real chance of making this change something truly special. The feeling of hope, joy, and laughter bubbled in his chest as he wound about handing out the papers Tsubaki had pulled out.

Ichigo Kurosaki felt good.

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	4. Chapter 3

Well I have been reading the reviews and it has been giving me some hope that I still have some talent at this even after my two years in grad school. Granted my spelling still sucks through I shudder at reading my early work.

The reviews are fun to read through I do sometimes feel bad that people ask me not to do something that I know is going to happen, but that's just me I guess I have to stick to the plot in my head.

Anyway thank you all for reading this drivel that comes out of my head and I wish you all a good day.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Even on a Saturday Ichigo Kurosaki found himself only grabbing an extra hour or two of sleep. Saturday was the day that he almost never saw Sona, she slept till late in the afternoon, one of her guilty pleasures or so she had mentioned. This was her day of rest and considering how late they had all been up going over budget sheets the girl had more than earned it.

He took the time in the morning to push himself in his exercises, the bout with Kiba had stoaked a flame he had been trying to smolder. By the time he stumbled into the guest house shower, he was soaked in sweat. The water felt good like he earned it, soothing away his aches but making him wish it was late enough for him to use the baths in the main house.

Closing his eyes he went over the events of last night, the oldest camera was almost four years old and they had gone back in school and club budgets and found nothing. There had been a few inconsistencies but none had turned out anything, no school money had been used to purchase any of the devices. They had assumed that it was coming out of a person or person accounts, possibly blackmail for funds.

What he was almost sure of now was that the perverted Trio had nothing to do with it, in his opinion given what he had seen and heard they were more of the peephole type. Of course, he could have misjudged them completely, but his main strike against them was that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had zero interest in men.

What really rankled him was they had found could not be considered a crime, according to the law of the land non-sexual nudity was not a crime and neither was the filming of such. Which meant that contacting the police would be almost pointless and so they would have to deal with it themselves. He shook his head this kind of thing was never his strength in dealing with mystery or crime...he blinked he did know someone who was did he not?

He got out of the shower and went about drying off and dressing before falling back on his bed and grabbing his phone. He typed in a number he still knew by heart, wondering if it would even work or if it did he would even get an answer. The man he was calling had no reason to "Hello, Hello" a man's voice said sounding upbeat "How are you doing Kurosaki-Kun"

"Urahara-san" he replied politely "How is everyone doing"

"Doing well, very well" there was a loud yowl, "Yoruichi says hello" the sound was followed by a light meow. "So what can I do for you, I heard you moved out of town"

"I got a scholarship to another school, I needed to...take some time to myself, sort myself out."

"Yes, no one can begrudge you that you have more than earned it." there was a pause, "I do not think I even mentioned this to you but what you have done has saved countless lives never forget that."

He felt his chest curl in sudden pain "I know...thank you"

There was a moment of silence "So why are you calling this fine day."

"I wanted to ask for your advice, an issue has come up at my school and it is not a situation I am good at dealing with and I wanted some advice."

"Mundane or Spiritual?"

"Mundane"

There was a sigh on the line "Since it's you, Hero, what do you want to know?" So he started with everything, the original pictures being hacked from somewhere, the cameras they had found, his thoughts on the suspects, everything. The man listened in mostly silence though he did interject with a few questions.

"Hmm, I suppose it makes sense you still try your hardest to protect people, you would not by you otherwise."

"What?"

"Nothing, So there are several things you should expect to happen rather rapidly, some will happen soon. One is that whoever is doing this knows what has happened. I hypothesize it is a group rather than a single person, they have to know and will move against you and your acquaintances, this student council you are on. Either today or tomorrow they should receive some form of threat or blackmail. Second, those three boy's you mentioned will either be implicated or framed as they do make really good patsy's" the man laughed "That is what I would do in their place at least, third they know discovery is imminent and that whatever they have planned will have to be accomplished soon. What that is I have no idea, I mean it could be blackmail on a large scale, selling to other people who might want to make use of it." Ichigo could practically feel the shrug across the phone line. "So you might want to get ahead of the curve and try and prevent or prepare these people you know. I will tell you right now I have some projects that cannot be left so do not expect any help from my direction. But if the school is rich enough you might think of hiring some expects in computers that might help." there was an explosion of sound, "Oh Dear that is not good, I have to go Ichigo, good luck with your issue" the phone call ended abruptly and Ichigo placed it back on the table.

Something burned in his belly, a fire of anger at the idea that these good people he knew were about to be attacked. What was worse attacked in a way that you could not simply block a punch and counter. He...he wanted to protect them from that, even if several of the girls almost certainly had some sort of spiritual power something that enhanced their bodies he would guess. But still, he wanted to help, to do something, do anything that would help him live up to his ideas.

Dressing as quickly as possible he glanced at the clock, it was before eight so he would be breaking a rule doing this but….it was more important than that and she would understand he or at least he fully believed that. After all, she wanted to protect people too, her council, her fellow students, her friends, he could see that in her clear as day.

Ichigo knew where her room was, he had never been in it but she had pointed it out to him when he has been given the grand tour of the house. He went up the stairs and moved down the hallway at a quick pace, so it was almost a disaster for him as a door was flung open and he almost crashed into a figure that stepped out. Steam poured into the hallway preventing sight for a few brief moments. How that much could come from a shower was anyone's guess and he stepped back from the figure he almost crashed into.

It was a woman or at least his instincts told him that, she was shorter than Sona's height by several inches but shared the same hair color and bright violet eyes with student council president. Her hair was currently spilled out behind her head still wet from the shower, she wore a pink satin bath shirt and pants, said shirt way too small considering how much more developed she was. She was smiling at him and in her head was a….toy pink wand with a heart on the end? If that was odd that fact that she was pointing it at his chest like it was a gun….granted knowing what he knew it very well be deadly. Objectively she looked like a teen with large breasts, in his head however he was registering her as women... it was rather odd.

What was odder was that several emotions went through him at once, first was a biological reaction to the sight of her that while it might make sense was odd, as he was normally in better control of himself. Perhaps that lapse was linked to the second surge of confusion at this women he was seeing, third was...well it was a terror. It went through him like a cold wave through it did not suppress the first reaction if anything that got worse, every cell in his body was, every neuron in his brain was screaming at him that he was in very real and very present danger. They said he should run or failing that grovel for his life...some power of hers perhaps? Had he been anyone else he would have run off screaming...but if he did that every time this sensation tried to overtake him...well let's just say his baby sister would still be trapped in hell. It was yet another thing that separated him from his fellow humans, a scar of what he had been before.

"Herr-oo" she said and he noted that her other arm held a toothbrush and she was in the middle of brushing her teeth.

"Uh...hi?" she tilted her head and then nodded the wand lowering and the sense of raw threat that had every fiber of his being wilting on the spot vanished. The women held up a finger and stepped back into the bathroom she bent over a sink and rapidly brushed the rest of her teeth and spit into the sink. There was the sound of a water faucet followed by a gargle and another spit.

The water turned off and she stepped out sans the wand and toothbrush "Hello" she beamed at him "Who are you?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki"

"Ahh" she walked around him looking him up and down, he felt his body tense like it was a mouse watching a cat "Hmm you have the build and hair for a home invader but not the attitude."

"I'm not a home invader...I live here"

There was a sharp intake of breath "So-tan has a boy living with her and did not tell me" Her hands went to her hips and her cheeks puffed out "That's not fair, So-tan is being naughty...she's too young to be doing naughty things."

Ichigo felt the familiar sensation of watching something slip out of control, She put a finger on his chest "Who are you and how did you steal So-tan from me?" that sense of danger began to rebuild.

"I didn't" he offered, "I think you may have got the wrong impression."

"Oh how else am I supposed to see this, So-tan is supposed to still be calling me Onee-Sama and we kiss in a Yuri-Yuri way that's the good So-tan."

He held up his hands in surrender "I'm here on scholarship, she is letting me stay in her guest house and I work for her council."

The girl paused "Oh, oh that right" she slapped her hand on her forehead "She did tell me about you...well not that you were a boy but she did say she had an exchange student living in the house" her face got bright "What far off land are you from?"

"Uh...small town...hundred miles that way?" he pointed behind him.

"Oh, local," she said "So-tan did say that too" her expression turned into a pout "I was so excited to see her I forget...Oh right where are my manners" she grabbed his hand and shook it "I'm Serafall Lev-" she paused "Sitri, Serafall Sitri, So-tans Onee-Sama"

He nodded, the family resemblance was quite striking though her skin was not quite as pale as her sisters "Also by night" she waved her hand in a mysterious fashion "Miracle Levia-tan Magical Girl"

The name did not ring a bell but he decided not to mention that "I'm sorry I interrupted you I needed to see Sona-san I have learned something important that is about to happen to her fellow students and." his phone buzzed cutting off his words.

"And?" Serafall asked, "Is it a serial killer, a meteor, tidal wave?"

"One moment," he said holding up his phone and pressing the email app "Ichigo Kurosaki, you are to cease and actively hinder all attempts by the student council to investigate matters which do not concern you. Failure to comply will result in the photos below being released to all your classmates and the internet at large. Make sure you comply as this is not a request." Below the message were six pictures, two of them were him changing in the small men's locker room, he was only in his boxers in those, the next two had his back to the camera when he had been undressing for a shower. This one had him nude and the next two were ones that had gotten a full frontal while he was in the said shower.

He paused for a moment sighed and said "Well that was fast"

"What was fast? Serafall asked

"I've just been blackmailed, and they want me to hinder Sona's efforts...they really picked the wrong leverage for me." He thought about it for a moment "I wonder what that says about me….they have nudes of me and I could care less." he shook his head at the thought "Anyway I believe that the rest of my fellow council members will be receiving something similar and they might take it harder than I" he glanced at Serafall "Hence the reason I wanted to go see Sona-san"

"That's awful...if you care" she tried looking at his phone standing on her tiptoes "Can I see?" Now Ichigo felt there was a difference between someone trying to use this for blackmail and showing his body to a girl he had never seen before especially if he was the one doing it. He opened his mouth to say no but she put a hand on his wrist and pulled down with effortless strength her touch sending a jolt of pure sensation through his whole body. It surprised him and befuddled his mind "Wow" she said looking up at him "You, have a nice body you know that"

He shook off the surge of pure thrill that went through him at those words "Thank you" he said dryly doing his best to she nothing of how uncomfortable that statement made him.

"But you are right, if this is going to happen to So-tan's peerage then she does need to know." she grabbed his hand "Let's hurry" he ran after her his longer legs let him keep up enough so that she was not dragging him. As they did so he was trying to put the word peerage in any context at all. That word meant something, perhaps a foreign word for a council but given the way, Serafall was speaking she was native Japanese by accent alone. They stopped in front of a door near the end of the hall and the women glanced up at him "How were you planning on getting her attention?"

"Knock until she said something or came to the door...why?"

"Really, you weren't going to burst in with your important information, discover that So-tan sleeps in the buff and get slapped for your accidental perversion." somewhere there had to be a god because an actual cricket began to chirp as Ichigo stared at her. "No," he said.

"Really, that's too bad, So-tan really does sleep in the nude"

"I...did not need to know that."

"Oh I do too, so does mom it's kind of a family thing"

His mouth opened and closed like a fish "I really did not need to know that." he turned and knocked on the door several times.

"Hmm, by the way, do you recognize me from anywhere?"

He knocked again "No, sorry"

"Ah, well I have a TV show, does not get primetime despite how popular, honestly you do a magical girl transformation the real way and all the moral guardians start there to fuss about seeing boobs." she shook her head "Why can't they focus on the love, friendship, and hope aspects of the show."

Ichigo had no good answer for that and decided to knock again "I have been out of touch with entertainment for a while." he offered.

"Well that won't do at all, how do you destress then...well besides the obvious way only guys can do."

"One, exercise and ice cream once in awhile and two I am not even going to discuss that with you."

"Why not" she looked to either side of her as if she was about to tell a grave secret and leaned in "Girls do it to"

He was saved by a growling sound that might have been the door or might have been the girl who opened it, Sona was covered head to toe in a large fluffy blanket that when held as she was doing it covered everything but her glasses-less face. And on a second check, the growl was definitely coming from her Ichigo tired not to think about what might or might not be underneath. With an effort of will, he pushed the thought away "I have reason to believe that the rest of the student council is about to be blackmailed by the people or person who set up the camera" he held up his phone "This was further supported by the fact I just got this email." It took her a moment to process as she fumbled on her glasses. With them her vision seemed to clear she blinked at the message taking it in along with what he had told her. Her sleep-deprived face vanished flash of anger, panic, and wrath mixed into something singular followed by fear, fear not for herself but for her people. She dropped the blanket, and as Serafall had said she was indeed very much naked, by the time he registered her lovely white skin and perfectly formed body she had turned giving yet another view of something well formed and shaped as she crossed the room to her phone at a speed just as boggling as her nudity.

He recovered in a nanosecond and doing a perfect right face and marching off down the hallway before his mind or his slowness could get him in trouble. Of course, his mental images, seeing her long strong legs and very well formed backside was not going to help his day that was for sure.

His face burned red as he reached the stairs which was about the time Serafall caught up with him "Where are you going?"

"To make breakfast, I have a feeling there will be guests over soon." his reply was like that of a robot lacking inflection and personality.

"Oh how thoughtful you are" she smiled at him focusing on his beet red face.

"Would you like a place Serafall-San?"

She stuck her tongue out at him "Boo, call me Levi-tan, and yes I would love some breakfast" she paused for a moment "Thank you by the way for not perving on my baby sister, I would have had to break your legs for that."

"I would have helped" he answered.

They reached the kitchen Serafall still watching his face "You're still red"

"Thank you for the insight, I am a guy sorry" he half snapped more angry at himself than anyone else.

The girl took it in stride thought "Hmm… do you like So-tan?"

Odd question or perhaps it was not considering the situation "I have known her for two weeks" he pulled out the rice.

"And?"

He sighed "From what I have seen she is a good hardworking, honest girl with the best intentions for everyone...how could you not like that kind of person. However that like is different from saying friendship, I make those a little slower than most."

"I understand" she nodded "It makes sense, so are you attracted to her?"

"Physical attraction is normal" he replied.

"So that is a yes?"

"She is very attractive...so are a lot of people here, it does not mean I am going to do anything because of it," he growled.

"I think that you're a good person, so its ok," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world "So are you attracted to me?"

"Yes…." dammit how did she do that? "Why are we talking about this," he asked in desperation.

"Miracle Levia Tan has to deal with relationships and attraction in her next episode I am just getting in some practice."

He felt a need to change the subject and fast, granted in the fifteen minutes he had known her he felt he knew a good way to do it. "So I did not know Sona-san had a sister:"

Serafall grinned "Where we come from lots of people know my name, know who I am and how my family is. So-tan wants to make it on her own" she sniffed back what looked like real tears "I'm so proud of her " she wiped her eyes "It sometimes feels like it was just yesterday when I would push her on the swing, or take her flying, or we would watch tv together."

While it was not in the same way he knew how she felt, Yuzu had just hit puberty a soon after he had last of his powers. "True" he replied.

"You have siblings too?"

"Two baby sisters…" he shook his head "They hate it when I call them that."

"Sona does too."

"Though I do think of it as sad and happy, after all, they are becoming their own persons" He reached over and flicked on the stove.

"Sona is someone who I am very proud of, I brag about her all the time to my friends. In fact, I get to them tell all the fun baby stories too, like the time"

Onee-Sama!" a voice interrupted in a semi-panicked voice" The both glanced over at Sona, like her voice the expression on her face was slightly panicked "Onee-Sama," she said once again in a much calmer voice. "No baby stories you promised" She was currently dressed in a tracksuit and her hair had clearly been given no attention.

"So-tan" Serafall was on her sister in an instant wrapping the girl in a hug that looked like it might have cracked a rib.

"Onee" Sona chided as Serafall pressed her face into her hair.

"I haven't got to hug you in two whole weeks let me have this" Sona sighed but went silent. Ichigo turned away from the moment and continued to put the breakfast together.

Sona endured about thirty seconds of her older sisters nuzzling before pulling away from her sister "Onee-Sama what are you doing here?"

"I check on my So-Tan every Saturday cant have any home invaders or foreign army's infringing on my So-Tan's beauty sleep…" she glanced at him "Through I guess your very own live in exchange student is an exception to that."

"Please tell me you're joking" Sona sounded almost horrified.

"Yes So-Tan no foreign army's have shown up yet though I am watching so never fear," she said primly "Besides your so adorable when you sleep, like a big lovely baby."

"NEE-SAN!" Sona half screamed actual sweat starting to bead down her face.

*Sigh* "To fast Ichigo-Kun, they grow up too fast"

While he himself could see the reason for Sona's….embarrassment he felt the need to stay on this person's good side "As you say Levi-tan" He heard Sona choke at his words.

Serafall smailed letting go turning to him "See. See" she hopped up and down like a child "See Sona someone who is willing to call me by my preferred name."

"I-I….I can't deal with this right now" she sounded on the verge of hyperventilation "I need to focus...focus yes" she blinked and scanned the room "Ah...thank you we will have guests soon" Guess she found her focus. Ichigo picked up a mug and held it out behind him "Here you might need this" she took her favorite drink from him and sipped it the way a rich man might a fine wine. Once she had a mouthful of that she turned back to Serafall "Onee-Sama I am so glad you have come to visit."

"Truth be told Sona I often don't stop by for more than moment to check on you if it makes you feel better" Ichigo smiled at her change of tone as she looked lovingly on her sister. "I was really surprised by Ichigo-Kun here I had my wand pointed at him and everything. Sona froze at the words looking over him like she was checking for missing parts "Don't worry So-tan I did not break him or anything...in fact you were the one that almost did that when you dropped the blanket" she made a clicking sound "My baby sister, only seventeen and already so bold." He felt the horror-filled gaze of Sona on him and closed his eyes sighing...he could see why she was on eggshells with her sister.

"It was only for a moment and I turned away as soon as I realized….I'm however very sorry for what happened."

"You should have seen him Sona he had a chance to perv on you and what did he do...he acted like a pure gentleman and turned away."

"I-I-I... I need a moment" Sona said turning and leaving the room, Ichigo and Serafall glanced at each other and after a moment decided to pretend they did not hear a muffled scream of embarrassment, some things were better left that way. To his surprise Serafall came over and began to help him set everything up...guess she knew her way around the kitchen, neat.

1

1

1

Ichigo could tell that the various members of the student council had received similar blackmail, they came at Sona's call. Most save Tomoe had varying degrees of controlled panic, humiliation, anger and fear mixed on there face. The two worst off were Saji and Tsubasa both of whom looked almost sick. He found himself wishing that he could truly empathize with their plight, a plight any normal (however possibly spiritually empowered) high school student should not have to deal with. But how could he, the threats that would affect him were ones like we are taking your sister to hell or the women you have grown to have as a friend and feel attraction for to be executed. How could something as simple as we have a picture of your dick make him even pause for a second?

He served them the breakfast he had made rice topped with furikake(A Japanese spice meant to be put over rice by itself) with a bowl of steaming miso soup and cup of hot tea. They ate, through it was in silence as they waited for all the council to arrive Tsubaki being the last and looking like she had not gotten the blackmail. In fact, she took one look over the rest of the council and went over to Sona to speak quietly, most likely to get filled in.

Serafall was somewhere around she had not shown herself to the rest of the guests, hell the only thing he had to go on that she was around was the feeling of attraction and fear she seemed to generate in him. But then again it could be his imagination...sure...he glanced at the empty seat gave it a moment through and set some food there as well. The others did not seem to notice, in fact, most had not even said a word. Tomoe looked distraught at that but the others were fully distracted.

Sona entered the room with Tsubaki toe, she had taken a shower, put on the light amount of makeup she used and had discarded the tracksuit for her student uniform. "Everyone, thank you for coming." they all had their eyes on her it was why they did not notice Serafall take her seat and start to eat.

"Now as to why I have called you all here, this morning it was brought to my attention that we are all under the potential threat of blackmail." As she said the words almost every one of her people flinched "Given that I know for sure that the one who brought this to my attention has been blackmailed, has anyone else received such threats?"

They hesitated and Ichigo raised his hand "Got it this morning, told me to sabotage the investigation we were doing." He shrugged "I'm tempted to tell them where they can shove it but I decided to wait on that."

"Thank you," Sona said, she said that possibly for him showing restraint or breaking the ice he was not sure.

Tsubasa closed her eyes lips peeling back in a contained snarl "I woke up and found the email, it said pretty much the same thing." her shoulders relaxed once she said it and perhaps because one of them, one who they had known longer for two weeks had done it the rest confirmed their plight. Only Sona and Tsubaki had not received anything, Ichigo felt he knew why and considered his words before holding them back. If these people needed a driving force he should not be the one to do it...unless it was needed.

"This" Sona said her glasses almost glowing with reflected light "Will not go unpunished, I thank you all for your trust me, for your trust in each other to speak. Her hand clenched and unclenched "Now we will need to discuss how to proceed with this."

"We could find out who did it and freeze their house solid" Serafall offered.

Every head save his and Sona's whirled to the person they had not noticed before that moment, the girl smiled and waved "Hi ya"

"Miracle Levia Tan?" Saji asked confused.

"You watch my show!?" she brightened like a Christmas light preening under his gaze "That makes me so happy" she sent a pout his way " Cause I was feeling underappreciated"

"Sorry," he said "But I have not seen the show Levi-Tan"

"T-T-the Leviathan" Reya whispered.

"Poo" she stuck her tongue out "No business names here, I'm"

"Serafall Sitri, my Onee-Sama" Sona interrupted smoothly through that sweat had returned to her scalp. Ichigo noted the mix of awe, fear, and trepidation that the others watched the smiling bubbly girl with….and she did too. It was only for a moment, only a flash of expression here and gone in an instant. A moment of intense sadness, of aching hurt, the expression of a woman who wanted nothing more than to love and let love. To be happy and bring that to others, all that twisted by resigned resolve. It was an insight that he normally only received when crossing blades with someone.

"Well, either your the prime minister of Japan and I did not know or they must be star struck," he said turning to her "Your show must be really popular."

That smile of hers returned sending shivers of nerves through his chest, the same kind Rukia could cause when she was not being an annoying midget. But he did not turn away from that smile, or her powerful searching eye's she would not have taken it well."

"They all have a taste" she agreed before turning back to look at her sister "So-tan what about my suggestion?"

"While that is an amusing Idea Onee-Sama we have no way of freezing a house or building this is not your tv show and you do not have magical powers." Sure she didn't and everyone around here was perfectly normal peak human level creatures...well he at least felt like he could call bull on her, her sister, Tsubasa, and Tsubaki at least. However, it was not his concern as to what they felt like doing.

"Aww you're breaking the magic So-tan"

"Onee," she said gently.

"Mmm ok," she said and took a sip of tea through still smiling at her own joke if nothing else she lighted the mood by pure confusion.

Sona sighed and put a hand on her head "Kurosaki-san would you relay to them what you learned from your friend."

Hat and clogs a friend? Well perhaps that could be the case but he was nowhere near drunk enough to tell that to the man himself. He kept his words clear concise and succinct going over the several points and guesses that Urahara on who they what the people they were up against would do.

"Basterds" Tsubasa snarled and to his growing concern her white hands clenching the thick wooden table began to show the signs of cracking the damn thing...that was some serious strength, he pretended to ignore it.

Sona coughed meaningfully at her friend and the girl let go of the table instantly, he was started to almost feel sorry for whoever they were chasing. "Given that Ichigo-San has been shown to be quite wise in seeking expert help, I have hired a firm specializing in computer and...other things to look into our case." Her smile was sharp "They have promised results by this Monday, a bold claim but according to there records they have done so before. As for the other issue, I would like to speak to each of you privately and you have my word that nothing will ever leave my lips about this nor will it change my opinion of you, everyone is different when they are alone that is normal."

Her council did not look happy at that and having to tell your boss about the nudes that were taken of you could not have been a fun thing to go through. He caught Tsubasa looking at him her expression searching through for what he did not know. Getting up he went about collecting the plates and cups, what was going to happen next was something...private, intimate and it was not a place for an outsider like him. '

Tsubasa's eyes followed him as he vanished into the kitchen, and the eyes of Serafall were like weights on his back. They had followed him around the table and through his retreat from the room, it was a relief when he closed the door behind him.

With efficiency he got to work cleaning the mess, putting away the extra food, washing plates, cups, and utensils. The task was straightforward and simple and right now that was a welcome blessing. It had been a hell of a morning and he was feeling the need to go for a walk and relieve some stress.

It seemed like moments passed but the clock told him he had been in her for half an hour when the kitchen door opened. He could see Serafall still at the table telling a story that managed a few smiles out of the worried teens. Tsubasa closed the door behind her as she entered leaning back against it.

He glanced her way raising an eyebrow, she looked beaten almost her shoulders drooping, anger and humiliation burning in her eyes. "May I talk to you?"

Ichigo nodded turning back to wash the plates " You seem very calm about this, calmer than all of us anyway." he nodded "Were your photos not that bad?"

"No they got everything" he replied, "Got me in the boy's main locker room and the swimming area, they leave nothing to the imagination."

"I see" out of the corner of his eye her head drooped "Then...how are you taking it so calmly"

He paused in his washing "The honest truth...is I don't care"

There was a long pause before she spoke again this time almost a whisper "How do you not care?"

Ichigo ran his fingers through the hot water contemplating the best way to answer "When I was little I was bullied...a lot and while never stripped or anything there are a lot of other amusements that were quite humiliating ones that they could think off, most of them involving toilets." he shook his head at the old thought, the scars of those actions long since healed. "After I learned how to defend myself and made it clear to them that not only would I no longer take it but I could turn it back on them, no matter how many friends they brought. They either stopped or turned to others means, rumors, pranks, lies, it became rote to ignore, to become callous." he let out a breath as the surge of unwanted memory surged through him "In time they grew board but by then I graduated to a whole new class of bullies in high school who after learned the very hard way that they could not physically beat me continued in that tradition."

He put a plate in the dry rack "My thoughts on it had changed along with me, I came to realize that if so many were focused on me, obsessed with me, that there were others who they were not attacking. I realized that the reason I had never cared about such things was not that I was a hard person it was that I did not care if I was the target. I could take it, I could push back, the only thing that could get to me was if they targeted my friends, my family." Something cold touched his voice "Someone tried it once, and after he was sent to the hospital they rest got the message." gods above was he bragging?

He shook his head "So in this place, at this moment, they send pictures of me naked, say that they will give them to everyone. But the problem is that I could care less if everyone in the school had them. If that changed their opinion of me, the fact I got naked, something everyone does then so be it. I much, much more care about the fact that you, that your fellow council members have been attacked. That makes me mad, that affects me much more than simple humiliation could ever hope to."

There was silence as he words died off, Tsubasa was breathing heavily "They have a picture of me...touching myself, they have it on fucking video. I just had to tell my friend and boss about something so personal and humiliating." her breathing was heavy "Could you say the same if they had you jerking off."

"Yes," he said "The only chance to my thought would be, oh no they have a picture of me doing something at almost everyone else on this entire world does." he turned to look at her "If that changes their opinion of me fuck them. My words may not mean much, but I do not think any less of you knowing that." the picture the words had spawned in his traitorous head was another matter that he decided not to mention that.

"You mean that…. you say it so easily, so simply, like it is the most obvious thing in the world."

"I judge myself before I judge others, and for what it's worth I am possibly a headcase because of the way I think. It is normal and natural for you to be worried there is nothing wrong with it and I highly doubt that any of your friends will think any less of you...I mean would you of them?"

"Of course not" she whispered, "I don't care what they do, they are…."

"Family," he asked.

"Yes" she took a few shuddering breaths "Care for them, care for them over yourself, I might not be able to feel nothing for what has been done...but at least I can help them."

"And those words do change what I think of you, those words put into action will only make me respect you more."

"Thank you"

He nodded as she turned took a deep breath and opened the door to the dining room, she did not close it as she left and he watched her take a seat beside Momo, who was not looking well at all. The girl put her arm around her and with an almost rough moment pulled her into her body. Momo sniffled and turned her face into her fellow council members body, Tsubasa leaned down and began to whisper something.

"That was beautiful," Said a voice from directly behind him, now he did manage not to yelp but the plate he was holding when flying over his head only to be caught by Serafall before it could crash. He took a breath to calm down his heart and refused to allow himself to ask something stupid like how long have you been there or how did you get there. Now that would serve no one "What do you mean?"

"She was drawn to you because of how you felt, they could all see it in the way you spoke. Your voice did not change, you told them what had happened the same way you must do when reporting the day's events. She wanted to know if that was a facade or if not how you did it." Serafall made a purring sound in her throat "And the simple answer is you do not consider it blackmail, you told her that and had you left it like that I think I might have hurt Tsu-Chan. But you didn't, you told her how you perceive your vulnerability, that you considered her family and by extension her more troubling than yourself." A hand was placed on his shoulder " She told you something that she expected to change how you look at her, something so private that it was hurting her. And you accepted that as well, no judgment, no looks, nothing save how you look at her now...then you praised her, now she is out there supporting her family. That Ichigo-Kun is what was beautiful."

His cheeks burned as he washed the already clean plate once more "I only told her what I thought was true….Levi-tan"

Serafall hummed in pleasure at the words and let go of his shoulder, "Then you are quite the interesting person."

The words brought him down back to earth "Not so much anymore" he said shaking his head.

There was a light whack across the back of his head "Don't say that, I meant what I said and Miracle Levi-Tan does not lie…..unless the fate of the world is at stake….or she has the last chocolate mochi roll."

He pulled the drain and let the water filter through it, helping along the suds by application of the sprayer, "Well that is a noble endeavor, I, however, cannot say the same for myself"

"Well that is why Levi-tan is a magical girl from a distant planet and you are a boy from the earth"

He laughed as he went over the counter with a washcloth "Hard to beat that" he agreed, Serafall grinned and went to get another washcloth and helped him finish the cleaning of the kitchen. "So what are you going to do after this?"

"Going to take a walk" he glanced at the people in the other room "While I'm still here they have to hold back somewhat" He was glad they were far enough away that by speaking quietly they would not be overheard."I have not been here long enough to be one of them."

The girl looked at him curiously but said nothing as he took the washcloth from her their hands brushing, the contact sending a surge of thrill up his whole arm. He turned at once not wanting anything to be seen and washed the rags in the sink. From her light chuckles it seemed Serafall had noticed….stupid teenage hormones.

He stepped out into the room just as Sona and Saji returned were walking downstairs, his face was a little green with the look of one he had just signed their own death warrant. He walked over to her and spoke just loud enough for all to hear "I have my homework and council work finished for this week, I'm going to head out and relax for a bit." It went unsaid that he would also give them time to talk without and outsider spying on them. Sona hesitated her mouth opening and closing, she looked behind him probably at her people and nodded "When will you be back?"

"A few hours, I need to clear my head some"

"Ok, I will see you then."

He nodded "Thank you Kaichou" and walked out of the room closing the door behind him once more, he blinked as Serafall stood in the middle of the kitchen. Her clothing had changed in the few moments of his conversion with Sona. She wore a white tank top that went mercifully down to her black skirt which before coming to Kuoh Academy he would have thought too short but it was about the same length so he did not complain. She had shoes on we're good quality athletic shoes along with knee-high white socks, and her hair was now down in twin ponytails. The abrupt change made him stop and well look like a confused idiot."

"Not all girls take forever to dress Ichigo-Kun" she held out a hand "Now let's go have some fun"

"I-I um...what?"

"Selflessness can't go unrewarded all the time." she grasped his hand with surprising strength "Besides you are right, So-tan needs some time with her peerage alone"

His mind was still doing flips and his thoughts spilled out unbidden "What is a peerage?"

Serafall lost a step for a moment then grinned "Where I come from it means a family of a sort, now come on I actually have not gotten to see this city before."

Ichigo Kurosaki felt his everything stand on end….this could not be good...or perhaps it would...you never knew.


	5. Chapter 4

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Ichigo Kurosaki was not sure what they looked like walking down Main street with Serafall Sitri dressed like she was going on a date. He was not even sure why he had not said anything...he glanced down at her current state of dress...well he would have to admit it to himself she was a gorgeous creature. She smiled at his look and nodded her head at the street "Wow this place is so calm, it's refreshing."

It was normally a lot calmer than this but given the fact that Serafall was outshining every woman on the street effortlessly it was bound to attract attention. For example, the three boys following them hiding in bushes or behind light poles that did not hide their bodies. Fate must have decided that it would be funny that the perverted trio was seeing this. Serafall did notice them like he had but did not seem to care in the absolute slightest.

Well, he best prepare for the latest set of rumors when he arrived at school on Monday...joy. Serafall heard his sigh and glanced at him "Are you ok?"

"Ya just preparing for Monday" he glanced meaningfully at the three followers "By the time they will have finished telling the story I will have" he shrugged "Well I actually do not know they are quite creative in their stories."

"Hmm, should I get rid of them?"

It said something about this situation that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she could deal with them...easily...without effort. "To me, they are pretty much harmless besides Sona would not appreciate having any of her student body decimated." Sona seemed to be the magic word with this women.

"I suppose you're right" she nodded and rolled her shoulders in a stretch "So where are we going?"

"You'll see" he replied, knowing where they were going was his only semblance of control over this situation and he was not giving that up easily. Serafall seemed fine with that walking next to him through not too close. "Do you mind if I ask you how So-tan is doing?" she asked as they passed the first of several street vendors.

He smiled, so that was her motive for this, well as an older sibling he could understand "Doing well, she takes her responsibility very seriously perhaps a bit too seriously but I at least managed to get her to take breaks."

"Oh, how did that happen?"

"Pulled up a dozen studies on how people need to relax and pointed out that she was an example to all the students at the school."

"That's sneaky using her sense of leadership like that."

He shrugged "She handles it better than anyone I have ever seen but even she can get a little tightly wound, I think that is why she sleeps all day Saturday, to destress."

"She started doing that when I had to leave home to start running my business" Serafall sighed "My greatest regret is that I had to take up the position."

"Family business?"

Her mouth tilted in a sad smile "Something like that"

Ichigo put that on the mental list of DO NOT ASK ABOUT, "So Levi-tan" Someone behind him snickered at the pet name. Which was funny as he felt he was a lot safer in using that name then he would be if he did not. "How do you feel about Ice Cream?"

Her pink eyes flashed "I love it"

"Good" he turned down a side street and stopped in front of a fairly crowded place even for this early morning hour. The building was small with a dozen or so tables against the wall and scattered on the white tiled floor. The only thing in sight was a register and a counter with a door that lead to a back room, he leads Serafall over to an empty seat, noting that currently, they were the focus of every eye in the place.

"Are they going to bring us something to order from?" she asked.

"Not quite" he replied watching as a small old man who he had twice noted moved like a martial artist came out of the back room along with several girls armed with serving trays. The girls were all taller than the old man and shared a sharp resemblance with each other, smooth black hair, similar facial builds etc. From what he understood they were his granddaughters who helped him run this establishment, with a quick efficient pace they went among the customers and delivered the Ice cream in what looked like handmade pottery bowls. Each one held something distinct and different, the old man looked over the building and nodded at him before pausing on Serafall. He started at her for a long time, face pensive with thought. Serafall raised an eyebrow at him but Ichigo just nodded. After about sixty seconds the man went back into his work area.

The girl across from him seemed content to wait for the surprise and watched the other customers eat their unique servings of the desert. "So Ichigo-Kun is So-tan eating well?"

"Well before I took over I think she was eating mostly raw fruit, vegetables, and tofu, that or the liquid stuff that is supposed to be a whole meal. But while I'm not anywhere close to my sister in terms of cooking I did pick up a few things."

Serafall sighed "That girl, I knew I should have hired her a cook." She shook her head "Thanks for taking care of her. Next question does So-tan have any boyfriends?"

"Not that I am aware of"

Serafall continued to question him about various states of Sona's mental, physical and social health, and other details that only an older sibling or parent could understand. By the time she had run out of questions there, ice cream had arrived. His was the usual, that being what the old man had decided would fit him best, that was how this Ice Cream Parlor worked. The Artizen decided what, his was a chocolate ice cream tempered in its rich sweetness by an application of nuts, a sprig of mint and some three artfully placed strawberries that had been dipped in some sort of tart syrup. To Serafall he brought a Vanilla Ice Cream base with five different kinds of syrup drizzled in lines with two long graham crackers leaned up against the side and two straws of Chocolate Pocky poked into the sides of the Ice Cream proper and garnished by a few cut pieces of cinnamon.

Serafall's grin looked about to split her face "Well, well, well that looks delicious"

"He knows what he is doing"

They took a few moments to savor the treat "I will have to take Sona here when I get the chance" she grinned at him "Unless you plan on taking her here yourself."

He shook his head "Tell you what, if that happens you will the first to know"

"I'll hold you to that Ichigo-Kun, though I hope my So-tan would let me know if that was the case before then."

"I feel I should reiterate that I have been here for two weeks, that is the extent of the time I have spent with Sona...I don't see any of that in the near future."

She leaned forward and his heart did an uncertain flip at her proximity " In the worlds of a certain magical girl never underestimate the power of love, it is the strongest force in the universe...well except for Mama's glasses lens flare So-tan learned it for her."

"Right" he just nodded in agreement it felt way easier than arguing.

"So I know you told me a little about you but do you mind if I ask where you are from?"

He thought about that for a moment looking at the being that every cell in his body told him was powerful and dangerous. But given that, if she really wanted to find out she could just ask Sona who knew his story, "Sure I answer a few questions"

"Excellent what's your favorite Anime?"

That had not been a question he had ever been asked "Nanatsu no Taizai" he replied before he could think about it.

"Oh I have not seen that one"

"I've behind on both the anime and manga but I enjoyed the first season a lot been planning on catching up but Sona keeps us busy and well yesterday and today have been practicing hard."

"Yes, but don't worry Sona will take care if it, she always does." she took out her phone "Watch Nanatsu No Taizai," she said typing something into her calendar "I'm always looking for new things when I have the free time."

"Right"

" What is your favorite anime movie?"

"Akira"

"Oh I like that one too, the way they use light as a conveyance of art and tone"...he had just thought it was a good story and a movie had dad had forbidden him from watching when he was twelve. The action had been rebellion more than anything else. "What's your favorite sweet?"

"Chocolate"

"Ohh dark or milk?"

"Uh...both"

"Hmmm ok, do you have any hobbies?"

"Copious amounts of exercise and I swing around a stick sometimes."

She looked him up and down "The first one is rather obvious, What's your favorite video game"

"Kingdom hearts series"

"Have not gotten to play that one, never enough time in the day or night."

He just nodded at that feeling rather flustered by the rapid-fire odd questions they seemed insignificant yet there was something she was seeing them, something she was learning about him. "Do you have a wish?"

"I'm sorry what?"

She shook her head "Sorry Ichigo-Kun that was a bad way of putting it, if you could have any wish what would it be?"

He almost said something sarcastic, something like all of the gold in the world. But that would not have been true, he picked at his ice cream and Serafall did not push him through she was watching him with intent interest. This question meant something to her, and he felt turmoil, he selfishly wanted, desired his power. The strength that has become part of him that he felt broken without like something fundamental was gone from himself. That desire roared up in him yet...yet it could not be his answer. It was something he wanted, wanted so badly he forced himself in ignore it. There was one wish that was far more important "I lost someone a long time ago, I would wish for them back."

Serafall's gaze turned sad and lowered from him "I apologize"

"Not your fault" he shook his head, the words had felt like scabs being torn off and yet he felt a bit lighter because of it. Because he could say that still, that he was not a complete slave to his wants through now he could never truly deny that the desire was still there.

"Well I still feel that I have transgressed a bit and that was not my intention, after this may I take you to do something fun" she grinned.

Well...that did not seem like a bad offer, Ichigo shrugged "Sure through may I ask what we will be doing?"

"I saw an arcade back down the street, I was thinking we could hang around there for a few hours."

"I think they have laser tag in there," he said knowing the place she had mentioned, he had not been in himself but he had seen it.

She rubbed her hands gleefully together "Levi-tan like laser tag"

Now there was something that did not bode well.

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Honestly, he was surprised at how long they spent at that arcade, Serafall's energy was as endless as her solid unlimited black credit card. They must have played every game there and had a nice meal of fast greasy food that was not quite lunch or dinner and both managed to win a big prize from the place. Granted she had spent several hundred dollars on getting herself a giant teddy bear and spent fifty on him which netted him a foot tall transforming Gundam. He was not sure what he was going to do with it but it was there now, and a limo had been waiting for them solving the problem of getting back to Sona's house with said giant bear. They had just entered the house when a voice said from the couch "Where have you two been?"

"We just went on a date So-tan" there was a spitting sound.

Ichigo sighed "We hung out around town while you and the others were busy" he left off the reason "she just likes to see you flustered."

Her glasses were flashing with a light that must have taken a lot of practice to pull off, "Sorry So-tan" she stuck her tongue out at him. "He is a really neat person, you guy's lucked out with him."

Sona sighed "Nee-san" with a shake of her head " Please tell me what you two did"

"Ohh why do you want to know So-tan?" Her sister leered at her.

The girl ignored it the ease of long practice "I need to know if there are any damages I have to pay for."

"So-tan" Serafall said with disappointment "Levi-tan can pay for her own damages thank you very much"

Which implied that it had happened before, "We got some ice cream and hung out at an arcade" he reportedly spent most of the day there and came home. Nothing untoward happened at all."

"It's true So-tan he did not even stare at my butt all that much"

He made a choking sound freezing in place, his eyes had only wandered once when she had been into her final round of DDR. Sona glared at him those glasses flaring with the fires of hell "Oh really?"

"Yep he was the perfect gentleman, I even gave him a chance to look down my shirt and he did not."

Sona's fist clenched hard enough to turn white through her expression did not chance "Nee-Sama that is indecent and, and you should not do that."

"Surely you can't begrudge you sister a little fun with her hard job."

"No I cannot, but, but like that, not with" she stopped herself and a tremor went through her whole body when she opened her mouth she was calm again. "No you do deserve to relieve your stress Onee-Sama, but you could do it in a more constructive way. Inside the bounds of decency perhaps."

"Poo that's no fun, you won't play dress up with me anymore so I take my fun where I can."

Ichigo took a step to the side planning to simply leave the room "Where do you think you're going" Sona said her voice and arctic gale.

"Take a bath?"

"No," she said with a growl "I am in need of some help with school requisitions, just because we are under threat does not mean that school life is not to move forward." She pointed at a spot on the couch "Sit" she ordered.

He did so quietly taking some of the paper on the coffee table and getting about setting the proper information on it. Sona turned back to her older sister the girl was grinning at them "So-tan could we talk together for a few minutes, I'm about to leave and I don't want to without getting at least some time with you."

The anger and stiffness drained from Sona's face and she sighed pressing her glasses up her nose "Of course, Onee-Sama" Her gaze turned back to him and flared again with sudden anger "You keep working until I say stop." Ichigo nodded wondering what he had done to earn her ire like this, it had not happened before.

The two sisters went upstairs and Ichigo did as he was told it would be good to get a little work done anyway, it helped keep the mind busy.

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"So-tan," her sister said the pet name with such pure affection that Sona could not get angry at the embarrassing name. "What point value do you see when you look at him?"

Sona paused as she leaned back on the bed they were lying in, her big sister liked to cuddle with her said it was the greatest gift she could give her. Given that she had done this with her as a baby, a child, and now a teen she really did not have an issue with it. She too felt a sense of relief and protection snuggled up next to her sister. "Eight" she answered.

"Oh you too"

That made her freeze "It was eight for you as well Onee-Sama?"

"Why do you never call me Onee-chan" her sister whined "And yes he was worth eight as well"

Now that made no sense whatsoever her sister was one of the most powerful beings in creation, as one's power went up the cost of turning someone into a devil when down in comparison to the user's strength. By any reasonable stretch of the imagination if Ichigo Kurosaki was worth eight points to Serafall Leviathan then he should be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty points to her. "Why?" she asked.

"I do not know" her sister replied "If I wanted to reincarnate him I would need to use both my Rooks"

"You, your thinking of doing that?" she could not keep a quiver out of her voice she hated that tick.

"Of course if you just see a person worth that much wandering around you have to at least consider it" she smiled "But know I prefer to get to know the ones who I chose... Extensively." she looked down at her with such love her heart did had a small flip "Which means more than just one day.

Her body relaxed at the words "I wish I knew why he was worth that much, he does not have a sacred gear, he does not feel magically powerful. I have not seen anything to indicate such a price all I have seen is a slightly troubled but good young man."

"Oh is that all you have been seeing my little So-tan?"

She did not answer her sister's question "So Nee-Sama what did you come here for besides this?"

"Hmm, it's so hard to think when I have my So-tan" she pulled her close "Oh right, I received some information a warning really, that there might be some fallen activity in the area. Through I did not sense anything in my walk around town so that might be wrong. Still, you should let your friend know both of your peerages might want to go to places in twos for a little bit."

Sona bit her lip "That's why you went out with Kurosaki-san?"

"One of them, he seemed like an interesting boy and low and behold I was right. He was nice, gentle, differential and I am pretty sure he at least had some sense of my power." Serafall nodded "He might know or at least think he knows more than he lets on...or he just has some killer survival instincts." Her sister giggled squeezing her just a little bit tighter "And he has a really nice butt"

"Onee-Sama" she whined, "Do you have any idea what you are going to do to my reputation."

"Oh come on I'll bet you have looked"

She opened her mouth but could not shove the lie out of it, and it was not like it was her fault that he did shirtless calisthenics in the morning. "He hehe" her sister laughed " My So-tan all grown up with her first crush."

"I've known him for two weeks Onee-Sama."

"And yet your so defensive" Serafall nuzzed the back of her head "Crushes are not a big deal and they can happen fast, I can tell you I once had it bad for Serzich but he only wanted to be friends." she shrugged "You can be so serious So-tan, enjoy your childhood a little bit" it was left unsaid but Sona could here the last part of the statement "Because I worked hard to make sure you had one" not that here sister would ever say such a thing out loud. Quite possibly she would not even think of it but it was there all the same and Sona Sitri was as she always was infinitely grateful to her older sister. While she might not be using her time like a normal teen she was happy that she had the choice to do it.

"Thank you Onee-Sama for all you have done" she turned around and pressed her face into her sister, Serafall almost moaned in pleasure at the action and hugged her all the tighter. Sona closed her eyes almost missing the fact that she was falling asleep it was so hard right now to keep her eyes op….

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Serafall stayed there for half an hour to watch over her baby sisters sleeping form, today had been a wonderful day, one of the better in recent memory. She gently moved her hand through her sister's dark hair remembering the those precious few years she had just been Serafall, not a Maou, not someone of whom things were expected off...of course the war changed that.

As she stood up and when to put back on her clothing, thoughts turned to the boy downstairs diligently working even now. He was an entertaining person, so young and yet she would bet her well made bottom that he had seen war too. The way he moved, the start of alertness, his instincts not supernatural, simple basic instinct that allowed him to function better. His eyes full of hurt both old and new, yet the fire of resolve and determination to move forward. She could see all of it, after all, she had seen the look in her own eyes often enough." Her head tilted back as she gently pulled her shirt over her bosom looking one last time at her baby sister, Sona was good at helping her get over and get through those particular actions and emotions.

With a long-suffering sigh, she left her place of respite and refuge, but she met it with a smile on her mouth and a song in her heart. Her tv show helped with the lingering scars as well, speaking of which she had to make sure Ichigo-Kun got the deluxe box set, unedited and unrated, he was wound about as tight as any man she had ever seen which was funny considering he had noted such quality in others. He could use the distraction and relief...if it would even occur to him to do so which it might not.

She could hear the pen moving as she went down to the main floor proper, she blinked at the sight of most of the mound of paper Sona had thrown at him finished, his expression was a form of detached focus. The expression of a person who is used to doing an action over and over again, she would guess with a weapon through as he was proving it had other uses.

He was not looking at her, though he knew she was here probably not looking because he had trouble keeping his eyes in decent places. Like she said he was wound up so tight he was fit to burst, not that she minded his gaze, after all, she had been telling the truth to Sona his gaze had only truly strayed once. Pausing at the bottom of the stairs to watching the number eight hover above his head, the number that had been the same for So-tan, Ria-tan and herself by any reasonable measure he should have cost four at most for her, and more honestly one considering relative power levels. Perhaps there was a meaning in the number eight, someone strong enough to grow with the peerage to be an enormous asset. However not nine, he was not Queen material so perhaps not a kings supporter in the truest sense of the word.

"So-tan fell asleep so when you finish those you should be good, through every bedroom that I can see has sleeping council members."

"I noticed" He replied with a small smile, Reya-san and Tsubasa-san took the guest house which is where I sleep...and I think Tsubasa went through my stuff."

There it was again, a calm amused detachment at the violation of his privacy which told her that he did not consider his material objects all that important and he probably had no naughty material with him...no wonder he was like a cork ready to burst.

Her clasped behind her back as she skipped over to him, his eyes drifted to her then almost instantly back down to his paper "It's good to be reliable Ichigo-Kun women love that in a man."

The poor boy coughed once and muttered "Is that so" she bent over just far enough that when she caught his eye again he got a great look down her shirt. His cheeks colored and he focused his eyes on her face, hellfire it felt good to do this again. The Maou could not do this at work but Serafall could on her day off, he closed his eyes and the color vanished from his cheeks as he regained control "Are you staying for the night as well Levi-tan" She suppressed a shudder of pure joy at hearing her pet name from someone else, no one, not Sirzech, not Sona, not even her own peerage would indulge her. Only that goodie twelve wings Gabriel but it was no fun when she did it… she was still not sure how the women did it wish such respect...that was the point of the name it was not respectful….angels were annoying.

"Nope" she made sure to sound regretful "You will not be able to take my chastity tonight"

His only reaction was to take in a breath and then to her surprise "Well darn the luck then I supposed we will both have that to keep that safe then." so he was a virgin...well that was not going to last long she thought.

"Ya, Miracle Levi-tan has to put work above pleasure"

"That sound like a very mature attitude, Sona will be pleased" Oh he knew just how to compliment a girl.

"It was a pleasure to meet Ichigo-Kun" she pulled him up noting his body tensing as if waiting for an attack. She hugged him nice and tight letting him get a good long sense of her figure and form "Help Sona for me while I'm away, she really does need some good food have you seen how skinny she is."

He sounded a bit distracted "I-I will do so"

"Good" she let him go and could not resist a wink at his wide eyes "Have good night Ichigo-Kun and I will see you later" As she walked away she heard him sink back down on the couch and in the mirror on the wall saw him put his hand over his flushed face. There was a spark of thrill that went through her and she hoped it would last until she got back to work, better to start on nice feelings like this. Once she was out of sight she took two more steps and hopped up there was a pull of power and a small flash frost at the ground in front of Sona's manor, Serafall, however, landed on hardwood floors and without even looking sat down in a comfy chair. Her queen walked into the room as if the universe had ordained it carrying with her a stack of paper that would have made a normal devil wince. However, Behe-chan carried it with the greatest of ease.

"Did you have fun Lady Serafall?"

"Oh yes," she replied with a smile "I got exactly what I needed and now" she looked at the paperwork like the enemy of the universe that it was. "I'm ready for work"

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Ichigo was awoken from his spot on the couch by the tone of his cell phone, he blinked blearily at the clock which read 3 am. He glared at the offending object as he tapped the screen of his phone bring up and email from a familiar untraceable address. He blinked twice before opening it "HOW DARE YOU" were the first words that he saw "YOU DARE TOUCH THAT WHICH SHOULD NOT BE TOUCHED?" there was a picture of him and Levi-tan eating ice cream, and another of them battling it out in DDR. "FUCK YOU FOR CORRUPTING THE PURITY THAT IS MIRACLE LEVIA-TAN" his sleep addled brain would not chug through fast enough "FOR YOUR PUNISHMENT YOU DISGUSTING BODY WILL BE SHOWN TO ALL AT KUOH ACADEMY. KNOW THAT YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF YOU DISGUSTING MAN"

That was it...he tried to rouse his mental faculties but nothing came up, he just didn't care enough or he was too tired yes that's probably it. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, only enough the dream of him naked in class and the dream people reacted oddly when he still walked up to the front of the class and answered the math question which somehow turned out to be chicken….weird dreams are weird.

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	6. Chapter 5

Hi everyone sorry for the very late update, I have a beta reader now but some real life stuff came up and the beta reading went slower than I hoped.

This chapter is about half way betaed but Given the amount of time it has been I decided to publish it now.

Hope you enjoy it.

Fanboy913

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It was breakfast on Monday before Ichigo mentioned the threat he received over his email. He had mostly kept out of the way on Sunday as her...what had Serafall called it...peerage that was it. Her peerage had needed more time with her and he did not blame them one bit. He did his best to fade into the shadows so to speak. He served breakfast and lunch, he cleaned the places they had slept in and did everything in his power to make sure Sona had nothing to worry about save her people.

He caught a few glimpses of Tsubasa and felt something very much like pride as he watched her move between the various girls of the group offering words and a shoulder to them. Saji looked like he was trying to deal with his own emotions on his own but Sona had nipped that in the bud.

So Sunday was spent either working on chores or soaking in the bath when no one else was there…. though that had gone poorly near the end. It had been a long enough day and he had gotten in a lot of walking and sword exercises. The hot bath had been so relaxing that he had managed to fall asleep in it, he had been told by Rukia once upon a time that he was a quiet sleeper but still felt it was a little ridiculous to wake up to several girls yelping in shock. Thank the gods he had the sense to keep his damn eyes closed and pretend he was still asleep.

"W-w-what is he doing here?" Reya had asked. "Was he in here before us?" Momo's question followed. Both girls sounded embarrassed and ….well the water was quite clear so there was no hiding anything. Lucky he was leaned back, his neck in a curved stone holder made for just this use and had a washcloth over his eyes.

"Of course he was," Tsubasa said sounded more amused than anything. "Though how we did not notice him is beyond…" She paused and there was the sloshing of water.

"W-what are you doing?" Reya asked in a hushed voice.

The heat of a body leaned over him and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her face was inches from his. "Checking if he is actually breathing," she sounded more than a little concerned and a warm rough hand was placed on his chest. "Oh good he is breathing," she said. "Could not hear it but his chest is rising and falling." She could have removed her hand but it glided over his skin for a few seconds longer than necessary. It was only through sheer effort that he did not have a biological reaction to the touch.

"You should not do that Tsubasa-san," Momo chided. "He is asleep."

"Mmm," was the girl's reply as she pulled away. "Right, right, Momo thank you." There was the sloshing of water as the body moved away from him."

"Should we get out?" Reya said "Sona might be mad if-"

"I might be mad if what?" Came said girl's voice and Ichigo mentally cringed.

Ichigo heard footsteps come closer then stop abruptly."What in the seven hells is going on?" she said and he could feel her gaze on him.

"Don't bother Kaichou he's out, in fact I think he was here before we were." Tsubasa said. "It's just inbetween the steam and the fact that he is the quietest sleeper, we did not notice."

"And you are all still in the bath, still naked?" The Kaichou said, her voice a semi growl but pitched low.

"Yes, yes we're getting out, getting some towels and waking him up. We need to clean to ya know." Tsubasa said in a conversational tone.

"Really?" Sona said, her voice holding more than a hint of suspicion though he could not tell why.

"Go to the other room." Sona said There was the pitter patter of feet and water "I will get him up." Tsubasa made a giggling sound and he could almost hear Sona's eyes narrow.

"Are you sure Kaichou, he is naked..." Tsubasa whispered

There was a pause and he could feel eyes on him again followed by a very embarrassed cough "Right." Sona said, sounding a lot more flustered than before. "I will go get Saji and he will get him up." That seemed to calm the other girl and the grumbling stopped. There was the sound of a door closing and he was alone again, leaving him to wonder what that had been about. Long story short he was "Woken up" by Saji and no one had mentioned finding him asleep in the bath so that had been that.

Ichigo slid the food in front of Sona, the house seemed quite now given that her peerage had gone home late last night. She took it, tasted it and smiled in pure delight before eating what he had made. He made a note to see if he could get Yuzu up here one day. It might spoil her but if she got to try some of his baby sister's cooking, well she would be in heaven compared to what he threw together. Sure he could make tasty food but Yuzu could transcend normal cooking, "So I got a message from our blackmailers." He said after she had finished.

Sona's expression instantly become all business. "What did it say?"

"Well for one thing I am pretty sure that they are a fan of your sister's TV show." She let out a slow blink at that. "Your sister and I were out on the town, we ended up being followed by the perverted trio almost all afternoon and they did take pictures. Said photos seemed to have ended up with the blackmailers and well…... they did not take it well. So I would not be surprised if my blackmail is um...spread by the time we get to school." She looked utterly devastated for him and he shrugged "Anyway in more important matters does this school have a club dedicated to your sisters show?"

Sona just started at him "Ichigo?" she asked, omitting the honorific. "Are you ok?"

"Oh that's right, you might not know but I don't care about nude photos of me. It will be annoying but it's honestly not a big deal."

Her expression flickered. "Tsubasa did tell me what you had said."

"Did you think I was lying?" Ichigo asked.

"I did not know what to think."

"Well now you know, so about that club..." he really wanted to turn this conversion to more productive matters.

"No there is not...or at least none officially," she frowned. "I think Saji might know more about that, we should ask him."

She leaned forward to stare at his face, scrutinizing him with such focus that he wondered if medical equipment would have been as detailed "You really mean it." She said "You really don't care."

He smiled a little. "I try not to lie Sona-san. These sorts of threats mean nothing in my mind, however I am hoping that given the...emotional nature of the email they might have slipped up somewhere."

Sona paused her fingers drumming on the table. "I received some information from the firm I hired to look into this matter." She placed a file on the table. They managed to narrow down the places all the feeds were going to." It was flipped open with a map of Khou Academy. "Here," she pointed to a room on the blueprints. "The Graduate Assistant Office, the Computer Club Room, the Teacher's lounge and the LIbrary. All places with a good amount of computers. They have informed me that the data is being bounced between all of these and that only one is the actual destination."

"Hmm... any chance that one of the teachers might have a previous offence similar to this?" She shook her head. "No every faculty member is thoroughly checked, processed and fingerprinted." She waved a hand. "There are some prints on these cameras that are not ours and I had them matched against all faculty, but came up with nothing. While that does not rule it out entirely it does make thing harder to prove."

"Do we have student fingerprints?"

"No and we are not allowed to do that, part of the privacy contract that the School has with all parents and students."

"So we can for the most part rule out the faculty for now." She nodded. "So the teacher's lounge is most likely not the place?" Ichigo asked.

"I would think not, it is one of the most trafficked places by the staff. We will check of course but I do not think there will be anything there." Sona explained.

"So that leaves the computer club, the library and the grad assistance office." Ichigo concluded.

She nodded. "I will check the break room and the grad office myself along with Tsubaki. I want you and Reya to check the library and the computer room, which conveniently has an entrance from the library as well as the hallway. I believe you have some time around lunch where you are free?"

He nodded, taking a bite of food. "Also I want to let you know that there are ways into the school that do not involve the main entrance." He frowned at her in confusion. "In case you want to avoid eyes..."

"Oh," Ichigo shook his head, "I have to go to class, I don't really see how it will change much." He smiled at Sona "I will be fine."

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Sona made it a point to walk in the gates with him, he would have prefered her not but she was exactly the kind of person that would do this. There were students milling about, lots were on their phones. Some were giggling, others speaking quietly among themselves. One of the girls saw him and froze, others turned to see as silence fell over the front gates. Sona glared at them all but she was just one person. That silence held for several steps and then it was shattered by a loud appreciative whistle.

As if it was a sign voices erupted, groups of girls staring at him unabashedly with crimson cheeks. Others leering with open appreciation. Many laughed though the reasons varied from malicious to mostly uncomfortable, he got an earful of how his body was currently even now being rated on some nebulas scale of hotness.

The perverted trio looked miserable though Ichigo was not sure why, granted he had a feeling they would tell him in great detail when they got the chance. His expression never changed, his emotions barely rippled. A small laugh escaped him, causing Sona to look up at him startled. "This," he said, "Will not bring the rain, it won't even come close." She of course would not know what that meant but it was more for him then her. Words had power and sometimes they needed to be spoke aloud. "Hey Ichigo." He glanced over, brown hair and yellow eyes leered at him from her spot on the wall. She was Aika Kiryuu he thought, in the same class as the perverted trio and him for several subjects. They had not spoken much or at all really, never really having a reason to. He raised an eyebrow as she licked her lips. "Nice," she leered, the word carrying all sorts of meaning.

She might have said more but Sona Sitri unleashed such a glare on the girl that he was worried for a second the stone of the building might melt. The girl herself did melt in a manner of speaking. Taking one look at Sona, Aika decided she needed to be at class as fast as possible. Ichigo shook his head. "Thank you." She looked at him once more, up and down searching for...weakness he guessed, a crack in his mask. But he had spoken true, he looked over the dozens of students starting openly or coverly and felt nothing about it. They all had to have, pictures of him in full but he had seen his own guts spilling out on stone, his body held together by his spine alone. Now that had been a disturbingly intimate look into himself. Ichigo shook his head at these children that stared at him, sighing and chiding himself silently for that thought. These boys and girls were the same age as him and yet they were clearly very far apart.

Sona walked with him as he headed to class, with her at his side no one said anything and there was no open staring. Her eyes were on fire with anger and wrath, in this moment it suited her well. Her lithe body looked coiled like a cat about to pounce, her breath was controlled through heavier than normal. She looked lovely like this, dangerous and powerful. Ichigo wondered what he would sense if he could have felt her soul right then, he had no doubt it would be anything less stunning than the girl he saw before him. They were different people but they had this in common, something that few had, the desire, the need, the will to protect. He wondered how far it went? For him, he had long since come to terms with that goal… what had he told Ishida once upon a time? His memory dredged the words up, _"I'm not superman, so I can't say anything big like I'll protect everyone on earth. I'm not a modest guy who will say it's enough if I can protect as many people as my two hands can handle either. I want to protect a whole mountain load of people."_

Mountain load….not his most charismatic choice of words and he was not what he had been, he was human now. Only human and as such had a lot more limits on what he could do. And for now he would work his hardest to make sure no one else would have to experience this for while he might not care most would.

"I will head over to the library after lunch." Ichigo told her as they reached the door. "Can Reya meet me then?"

"Yes I will tell her." the girl hesitated looking between him and the classroom, she could not stay with him they both knew that.

He put a hand on her shoulder and felt a tremor go through her at his touch which he ignored. "I will be fine Kaichou, let's focus on getting the people who did this." She closed her eyes, taking in a long breath through her nose as her pale hand came up and gently laid itself over his hand.

"You are right of course." she said both holding that position for a moment "Good luck and thank you for your help to me and mine."

They pulled their hands away at the same time, Ichigo looking at his hand feeling her body heat still clinging to it. "Your welcome." He turned away first and walked into the classroom, Sona paused only for a moment longer before she walked away.

The classroom was mostly full by now though some were missing. All eyes stared at him, even the teacher, an older women who nonetheless gave him a look that was one of appreciation even if she was not the type to go after boys young enough to be her son. It was the 'I can look at the scenery but do not have to camp it in' philosophy which Ichigo was fine with.

He took his seat noticing how no one seemed to want to sit next to him. Perhaps a fear that if they were seen with him something similar might happen to them... well it did not matter. By the leering stare at his back he guessed that Aika was here. He could hear her voice as she whispered to one of her girlfriends, something to do with his size according to her best guess. Perhaps she belonged with the perverted trio or maybe she needed to make her own female group that did that.

Speaking of the trio by the sound of their labored breathing they had just managed to arrive and sadly for them and him the only seats available were the ones directly around him. Ichigo could hear them hesitate before they bleakly took their seats. The teacher coughed, then had to cough again as it did not draw the attention she wanted. "We will move on to chapter 8 today."

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Ichigo put his books away as the class came to an end, there seemed to be an invisible zone around him no words were spoken to him, no one came close if they could help it. That lovely thought was broken when the door opened and there was an eruption of quiet whispers. He ignored them and finished zipping up his bag, but a small hand gently tapped him on the shoulder. That surprised him and he looked over to find Koneko at his side, "Hello," he said politely. She leaned forward drawing gasps from the watching students but he could see what she was doing. Like Sona she was searching his eyes to see his hurt, "Don't you have a class now?" he asked.

"Are you ok Sempi?"

He nodded. "Not the first time something like this has happened to me." The small girl glared at the people watching, it seemed to be enough that some of them filed out of the room heading to their next class.

"Are you ok?" she asked again more insistently.

"Yes Koneko-san." He put a hand on her head gently rubbing it back and forth like he did with Karin and Yuzu. "My friends are the only opinion that really matters." To his surprise her eyes suddenly screwed shut, her arms came up to her chest and balled into fists. She pushed her head up into his hand almost like a cat and made a sound that...could be misconstrued and if the absolute silent shock around was any indication, that was the case.

He pulled his hand away though not fast enough that it would have made it worse. Koneko made a sound of disappointment and then her normal expression returned. She stood there quietly as he got up and it became clear that she had decided to walk him to his next class. Was this how the people he protected in his time as a shinigami felt? A warm feeling of annoyment and joy mixed together, granted he knew damn well there were at least a dozen people at this school more powerful than him. Given that this girl was a close friend to one of them it would not surprise him if she had spiritual power as well. She took a light grip on to the side of his school coat and he made sure to keep his pace at one she would be comfortable with. Now the stares and whispers had redubled and behind them he heard the loud whispering of the Perverted Trio. "How did he do that, that's what three girls in two days and that's with the pictures situation, what does he have that we don't?"

Aika voice answered for them, "A cool attitude, a six pack, a tight butt, the tough bad boy look, and while a little cold and standoffish he probably has a squishy inside."

They yelped as the girl seemed to appear in their group, her face full of humor and malice. "Compared to you three who have…" She pretended to think about it, "Nothing, well it's easy to see. Pictures about you three would be funny, the pictures about him, well they give you something to do at night."

There was a vibration on his arm and Ichigo looked down at Koneko. Just on the edge of his hearing was a sound like growl, it was something he felt more than he heard. The girl's eyes were closed though that did not seem to impair her walking. He glanced around as the words has been loud and noted a decent amount of blushes adorning the faces of the student body. That was a bit confusing, sure if it had been Kiba he might have expected it but him? Unless the girl had been on to something with those words and had not just been ribbing the perverted trio which he felt was the more likely case, or at least he would have save for the looks he was getting.

"It's fine." Ichigo said quietly.

"It's not right?"

"But it's not the worst thing that could be happening. On the bright side no one seems to remember the pictures of the kendo club...granted they were all in their underwear but still."

She shook her head. "You're a strange person."

"I've been getting that a lot recently."

She nodded, "I did not look at the pictures that everyone is on about, but I did see the ones that the dumbassess behind us were spreading."

He blinked in confusion. "What was that?"

"Are you..." She hesitated, "Dating that girl?"

Ohh the pictures of him and Serafall! "No, we were giving Sona and her peerage some time to themselves."

Koneko's full attention redoubled on him. "Peerage... you know what that is?"

"Another word for family?"

"Oh," She nodded. "That is correct."

Ichigo caught the slight hitch in that though and was now thoroughly suspecting that the word had a much deeper meaning but again it did not involve him at all. "So my morning has been eventful, how has your morning gone?"

"Fine," she replied.

"Getting enough sweets?" Her eyes brightened slightly and her attention shifted away from the glare she was giving at any person who dared to gawk at him.

"That's good, Rias-senpai is taking care of you."

Koneko gave him a look that told him she was not fooled in the slightest by his attempts to change the subject. "I am fine," he said, "I truly am." Ichigo glanced behind him at the perverted Trio. "Though when those three get me alone I have a feeling I will be less than fine." He gave it a moment's thought. "Though I wonder what they want to talk to me about?"

Koneko glanced at him then at the three giving them a premium glare. Issei hesitated but the other two, Matsuda and Motohama, seemed to roundly ignore the small girl's glare.

"Easy," He said "They're just teenagers.."

Her gaze traced back to him. "We are all teenagers," She said then glanced back at the three for a moment.

"They are special teenagers." He amended.

"They are the worst." she said dismissively.

"That too but thank the gods that part does not have anything to do with me…" he glanced behind him "Just to make sure, it doesn't does it?" from the expression of horror and sound of disgust it told him he was right. "Good just making sure."

Koneko sighed and spoke her next words for only him to hear. "I will listen if you want to talk."

The words caused heat to bloom in Ichigo's chest, the words were so simple and kind it was the words his own friends would have said.

"If it starts really bothering me I will take you up on that."

The door to his next class approached and as they did Koneko's hand slipped moving down his arm and brushing lightly against the palm of his hand. They stayed there for a moment and he was shocked at how intimate the contact felt for the simple touch that it was. Koneko's expression did not change, only the smallest hint of red at her cheeks spoke of something more. "Thank you for walking with me." He said.

"Your welcome." The fingers on his palm left though the heat remained for a few long moments as he watched her hurry away. When she glanced behind her and saw him staring, her body language shifted almost imperceptibly, her hips taking to swaying just a hint more notably. Ichigo blinked and turned away, pushing open the classroom door. There had to be something in the water here, he did not remember his eyes wandering this much….then again he had been fighting a lot in the past year, his mind focused on far bigger and more important things. Add that in with the caliber of beauty that you could find among soul society and girls like Orihime, he had been...used to it.

The trio all tried to enter the door at the same time and he paused to watch them almost trip over each other in their haste. "Can I help you three?" He sighed taking his seat.

"You," Motohama pointed at him. "You are a bastard you know that?"

"And?"

"You got to go on a date this weekend." Was that what this was about? "And not just any date you got to date a hot girl too."

"Huge Oppai and all." Issei added with a voice of pure jealousy.

"You will tell us everything." Matsuda half snarled, "Or we will up our game of the rumors."

Ichigo just stared at them, almost feeling something akin respect…after all in thirty seconds they had made him more uncomfortable than his whole morning here. It was perhaps for that reason he found himself answering. "I was not on a date with her."

"You took her out to eat, you went and played games, you even walked through the park." Issei listed. "How is that not a date?"

"Because neither of us had any romantic purpose for that day, we were hanging out."

Motohama gasped pulling Matsuda to him "Could it be the fabled friends with benefits"

"No" Issei moaned "That's even worse, not even Kiba does that."

"You three are making some rather large assumptions" He said.

"And that's not all" Matsuda broke free "Beyond that sin how in the hell did you turn this picture situation to your advantage, I mean sure you have a six pack but if that happened to any of us we would be ruined, outcasts and laughing stocks."

"How is that any different from what you are now?" he asked.

You would have thought he shot all three of them with an arrow "That's cruel" Issei said.

"And he is distracting us" Motohama as he marched up to him "Tell us the secret of how you did this?"

"I did not" he said feeling the lightest flame of annoyance start to build "I don't care what people do with those pictures, I don't care if they decide to try and use it to hurt me and I certainly do not care enough to try and turn it into my advantage."

"Lies and slander" Matsuda snarled "You just became the second most popular guy in school besides Kiba and that list has the college students on it to."

"That is not going to last long" he said with a shake of his head "People will get bored of the pictures" he rolled his eyes "Now if you three would please drop this Class is about to start" The trio looked around to see the who class which had more or less silently walked in and taken there seats were staring at him with a lot of raw contempt. The shook his head as the three slinked back to there seats, Ichigo pulled out his book and picked up his pen. Those three were something else, they were lucky they had not gone to his school, things would have gone a lot worse for them.

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The Kuoh Academy library was a large place, it was made with three different school groups, elementary-middle, high school and college. With such a setting and the money that came with the fact that up until recently it had only been girls from wealthy families or ones that lived in town and got a huge discount had been going here.

It was under the main building dug into the bedrock it had three stories of building that went down into the earth. The top most layer was for elementary, the middle for high school, and the bottom for college. Each level had tables, chairs, wifi hotspots, and excellent ventilation that kept the whole place cool and the temperature constant.

Ichigo wondered why the running of the place had been left to the high school student council but then again Sona's people were nothing if not efficient and excellent at management...also this place had its own staff it was too big for anything less.

There was a nice elevator down to the area but he took the stairs, a well lit but simple concrete things almost at odds with the rest of the school. He was going to the second level of the library, Reya had texted him half an hour ago that she had finished the elementary computers. He wondered what he was supposed to do to help her in this situation, computers were not his area of expertise. He had found less and less time to use such devices and now was sure he knew even less than the average person.

This level of the library was quite as such places tended to be, his own footsteps and breath were the only thing he heard as he passed through the shelves of books, as he reached the middle he caught a glimpse of a computer light and headed towards it. A flash of long brown hair told him he was going in the right direction, he could see Reya now she was leaning back in a computer chair some program running on the screen in front of her. There was a finished bowl of salad at her side. She did not seem to see him, her eyes were down in her lap and from the reflection in the screen he could see pink in her cheeks.

He came within several feet of the girl and caught a glimpse of what she was staring at, there on her phone was the picture of a boy, blonde hair slick with sweat sitting against a wall shirtless and drinking a bottle of water. It was easy to recognize the boy, after all he was going to spar with him at some point. So it seemed this little librarian liked Kiba Yuuto, well he wished her luck that boy had a lot of potential suitors. He coughed politely drawing a yelp from the girl and she turned her head surreptitiously putting the phone in her pocket. "Ichigo-San" she said looking rather panicked.

He decided to pretend he had seen nothing "I'm here to help, through I do not know what I can do computers are not something I am talented with."

Reya relaxed then perhaps taking his expression as one that had seen nothing "That is ok Ichigo-san" she turned to her backpack and pulled out a case and disk "Thanks to that firm Kaichou hired we were given these neat programs, I made a few chances of course so that they won't get the data scanned but this should find what we want." he took the disk "Its really simple put it in the disk holder, push ok and wait until it's done." The computer dinged behind here and she turned "Finally, someone was looking through a lot of pornaogphy on this one, it slowed it down" She shook her head "I'll have to tell Kaichou that someone found a weakness in the parental controls." There was a green checkmark and a small file on the screen "Ok this one is clean." she deleted the file. "Alright let's move onto the next two"

Ichigo nodded and went to take his seat, there was silence for a few minutes as they both got the program installed and it began to sift through the computer. Words flashed across it file names that had an X over them "I don't think we have gotten to speak much" Reya said.

"True, our duties have often been in opposing rolls or in here where talking is discouraged."

Reya nodded "Kaichou closed the library so it is ok today."

"Ok" He leaned back "What do you want to talk about?"

Her expression flickered and he caught a glimpse of the stress she was under, he noted that her phone was out of her pocket and her eyes flickered to it like it was a salve. "I honestly just want to talk about normal things, help get my mind off the events of this week...I feel so" she hesitated "Selfish"

Turning his chair so he could look at her Ichigo frowned "How so?"

"My stomach is churning, I find it hard to breath, I think of nothing but how at any moment what happened to you would happen me. That I could be someone that people look at" she shuttered "People use" her arms wrapped around herself "Tsubasa and Kiba have it the worst, I'm what you might say the best off, just one topless pictures and I feel such terror at it. All of my friends have it worse and yet I…" She looked down and he wondered if she meant to speak her next words "Hope with all my heart that it will not happen to me, that, that it happen to someone else anyone else but me." Her mouth curled in distaste "What kind of person does that make me Ichigo-san."

He took a breath "It just means your a person, you want what is best for you. You wish that your dreams and aspirations are not interfered with. You fear that the one you have a crush on might see you in a different light." he said the words with utter certainty knowing that was a major source even if she had not said it. " And so you have thoughts of self preservation, whether they are selfish or not is not my place to judge. But tell me what have you done about those thoughts? Have you hindered this investigation, have you given them information, have you pleaded with them?" she shook her head. "Of course you haven't, you love your friends I can see it among you as bright as the sun. So I will say, this actions speak louder than words and the most assuredly speak louder than Idle thoughts."

Reya released a pent up breath "That still not ok, Tsubasa you know she has been so supportive. She put aside that fact that she could be far more damaged and I did not" her fist clenched "She has proven to be a far better person than I."

"Everyone is different" Ichigo said with a shrug "She is dealing with it by helping others, you look at pictures to calm you down"

Reya went crimson "There not dirty" she half shouted.

"I know, I do not believe one of Sona's group would do that even if they happened to be ones of Kiba Yuuto" Her face went even redder, he shuddered at the surge of positive emotions going through him was this what it was like to tease someone? No wonder people did it to him.

"Anyway" he put a stop to it though "You, if you have not noticed are also helping, we are currently trying to track them down and if in the process you help protect yourself I do not see an Issue. Not everyone is a guardian Reya and everyone has their place somewhere." he made sure to look her in the eye "While I can guess you spoke of this to me because I was a semi outsider may I offer you some advice." She nodded after a moment "Speak to Sona about these feelings, I am sure she will not judge and will be able to help you far better than I can. Because when it comes down to it the way I look at things is different from the rest of you."

Reya made a coughing sound and turned her chair away "Thank you Ichigo-San"

"I hope it helped."

"It did and...perhaps Kaichou would be able to help me more."

Ichigo noted his computer had blinked red and ejected the disk, "You know your family when you can tell them your weakness and they accept you for them and from what I have seen you do have a family in them."

"I do" she said head down "I want nothing more in the world then to be with them to have them be proud of me." her expression softened and when she spoke her voice was a whisper he was not sure she intended him to hear "After all I was made out of pity, not for anything that I was."

He frowned at that "What?"

She blinked and shook her head "Nothing" she said quickly rejected her disk and shook her head "Look at me, I said I wanted to talk about normal things and I drop all this on you."

"Hey I'm happy to be a confident, if that is how I can help people know it is fine by me."

The words got a smile on her face "Thank you" she said again, with an effort of will she changed the subject "So Ichigo-San as long as you do not tell anyone about what I ask next could you help me by telling me Yutto-Kuns likes and dislikes?"

"How would I know more than you about him, I've been here for two weeks and had one sparring match with him...and the promise of a second If i can ever find the time."

"Well that's more than I have ever gotten" she grumbled.

"Have you ever tried talking to him?"

She flushed "The guy is supposed to come to the girl first."

"...Forgive my bluntness but Kiba Yuuto has so many would be suitors that you will have to stand out if you want to get noticed. I would suggest talking and see what happens."

Reya did not answer and he wondered if that had sounded too much like a rebuke, her expression at least turned pensive at his words and he decided to leave it off at that.

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"All right" he said glancing at the clock, evening was coming strong, they had been switching off computer duty as they each had to go take their own classes. Above them the rest of the Council was doing similar sweeps of the possible locations. "This the last place"

"Indeed" Reya said eyes looking red and exhausted "The Computer Club's Room" she pulled out a set of keys and began to search "I don't think I asked how you got this position why did Sona put you in charge of the library."

"I love books" she said the after a moment "When I was little I spent all the time I could in the library. I think I read gone with the wind when I was seven, the tale of genji when I was ten, the women in the dunes, the book of nine rings, she shook her head "I find it hard to think of a time when my nose was not in a book." she frowned as the key she had selected did not work and went back to flicking through them "I want to be a librarian, I might still, I don't know yet but when I got to middle school I took of a volunteer position in this library right here. I know it inside and out, backwards and forwards, I could tell you where almost every book and subject is in this place."

She spoke about it as a queen might of her kingdom "It was natural when Kaichou choose me to be here" again something about the way she said that irked him through he did not know why, words like pearage, phrases like, chose me and made out of pity, the sense of power in the whole group. He did find himself wondering more and more what kind of power bound them together with each other. Some spiritual might of Sona perhaps?

"And I like it here, it brings me peace even know." She frowned even deeper when her next key did not work "Someone seems to have changed the locks" She said with a shake of her head. Reaching into her hair she pulled out a hair clip and knelt next to the door. Ichigo coughed and looked away, she was bending over and it gave quite the outline of a very well formed backside, curse the short skirts of this academy he even caught a glimpse of white cloth stretched over a well defined body, a view he had no business noticing.

So instead he made a note of her apparent skill at lockpicking, her expression of concentration was one of long practice, the look of an artizen perhaps. The door opened after a few second, mercifully Reya stood up and straightened out her skirt allowing him to not feel like scum for looking anywhere but up...that place was affecting him in many ways and he was not sure it was for the best in some case. At this rate he would be locked on Orihime's chest the next time he saw her and what she think of that? He did not know but he was sure nothing good, Tatsuki would just kick him the balls which he would deserve. Speaking of which he needed to call home soon and catch up, he had promised he would.

They stepped into the club room, it had a homey feel, posters of anime, movies, games, Idol's and comedy adorned every inch of space on the walls. On the far side bean bags were placed against the walls next to outlets for laptop users. Six tables in rows of three were filled with monitors, there were of a lesser quality than on the ones in the library main but each row had about twelve monitors stacked on each side of the tables. Many of the screens had weird or cool screensavers that danced and flashed. Ichigo found his eyes drawn to the wall where the biggest poster of all was hung, it was Serafall through she was in a magical girl outfit that somehow managed to be a bit more modest than the uniforms at this school. The pink skirt was a few centimeters longer and the top only revealed a part of her belly through her chest clearly strained the fabric. Now of more interest was the lipstick marks that were all over the head area just under the words MIRACLE LEVIA-TAN in bold pink. The next important thing he noted was the smell, there was a strong tang in the air and while he could not place it his hairs were standing on end, his instincts on full alert.

Reya wrinkled her nose at the smell but stepped in anyway and after a moment of hesitation that he could not place Ichigo followed "Someone needs to air this place out" she muttered leaving the door open.

She moved to the first of the computers and booted it up, Ichigo moved around the room looking at the messy desks, there were comics, old candy paper, dice, pencils, forgotten homework. In front of each computer was a name carved into the wood of the desk, names like Glitch, Hack, Bit, Pixel, it seemed these people took the club seriously perhaps the names were part of initiation. He paused at the computer with the name Mother carved into it, a piece of paper half ripped was next to the keyboard the words caught his eye. "place is great" was the end of a sentence the first part was missing "Volt just got the power working so we can transfer the data to the bunker and make this a lot safer, all so with this all should be in order Mother. Make sure to grab the Shadowrun books before you go" it was signed with the name Punk.

"That could be nothing." he muttered but he took a picture anyway.

"Kurosaki could you boot up another computer?"

"One moment" he said making another circle around the room until he found Punk's desk and made a careful search of the papers there. It was mostly some cyberpunk fanfiction excerpts which at casual glance seemed ok. He frowned as some blue paper caught his eye and he pulled out a rolled up paper behind the monitor. Unfurling the thing it revealed...well a bunch of doodles, it looked like six different variations of the same room and been drawn on it with various power cables and generators, stations and computers in different places. Glancing to see that Reya was not looking he slipped that into his backpack...just in case. Finding nothing else speaking of the Bunker he went to go sit down but froze as a new smell made itself known. It was spart with a metallic tang, his eyes flickered around the room, every single computer had powered on red lights blinking on the desktop boxes.

"What?" Reya said as her screen went black.

Ichigo moved then, not knowing what might come next but his instincts were screaming at him. Something was very wrong and he had a sudden desire to be out of this room, "We need to leave" he said as the smell got stronger.

"Why?" she asked then sniffed at the air frowning.

It was a change in the light that warned him, a single spark that shifted the light of the room, he grabbed Reya hauling her off her feet like she was child and was out of the club room a moment later. Perhaps a heartbeat after the room filled with sparks and smoke as the computers began to whur and buzz in a manner unatral. Given that the room was filled with trash and very flammable trash at that what happened next inevitable. From half a dozen points of ignition a fire sprang to life, his walk became a sprint as he got the librarian about thirty feet away and dropped her. He ignored her words as he hauled open and emergency fire extinguisher and raced back to the room. Ichigo Kurosaki did not want have first hand experience of a burning library. The image of all the books burning like kindling was not a pleasant one, the heat was intense as he reached the door and growing. He unleashed the fire extinguisher at the nascent blaze, a few heartbeats later the fire alarm went off, Reya's work probably.

If he remembered correctly the library was full of overhead sprinklers but this club room did not have them. The extinguisher did its work and the smell of chemicals mixed with the burning plastic. However as the flow began to lessen he was starting to think that it would not be enough, that was when the strangest thing happened. Water began to fall in the room, water falling exactly in the pattern that it might fall if it was a sprinkler head on the roof. What was more, a lot of water was falling, now that might have been cool save for the fact that he damn well knew there were no sprinklers in that room.

The fire abruptly lessened, faster perhaps than it should have, he let go of the nearly empty extinguisher and stepped back. His head moved and behind him he found Reya next to the fire alarm and...Sona. Sona who as far has he knew was across the school from the library, she walked forward her expression one of concentration her eyes fixed on the room. "Are you hurt?" she asked her voice one of no nonsense.

"No" he said as she moved to stand beside him.

"It is good that the fire system is working properly" she said nodding at the falling water.

Ichigo looked from her to the room where the fire was already almost dead, he looked back at the girl focused on said room with an expression he has seen in others. Others who were say bending reality with hair pieces, or conjuring bows out of pure spirit essence. "Indeed" he answered after all the use of power to make prevent a disaster was not anything he disagreed with so a polite fiction was fine with him and not his business.

He watched the fire die fully and Sona's expression of concentration vanished, and wouldn't you know the falling water did too. Ichigo held back some sort of knowing expression, her hand touched him grabbing his arms and turning him to face her. She looked him up and down and relaxed when she saw not damage. She let go and looked from him, to Reya, to the destroyed club room.

"What happened?" she asked

Ichigo glanced at the ruins of the room "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say we might be onto something." the words felt like the truest form of understatement.

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 **The Plot thickens...More Levi Tan where there should not be, and spontaneity malfunctioning computers...na probably a huge coincidence.**

 **=)**

 **Fanboy913**


	7. Chapter 6

**Yay double feature, I hope you all enjoy the climax of my first Arc, (It will end next chapter for those who think it has gone on to long but you cant blame a guy for trying to build some real or at least anime real connections to help set up a story)**

 **One question read in the reviews was a question about why the Devil's have not used magic to solve this, and I can say that is one of the first things they tried it did not work and there is a reason for that. So far this story had been from Ichigo's point of view so naturally he would not be in the vicinity when they did there magic work.**

 **Anyway enjoy the chapter**

 **Fanboy913**

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To say Sona was angry would have been something of an understatement at this moment, this school had been attacked. Attack by fire and sabotage that had been far too close to hurting two of her people. It was different from her normal anger, somehow cold, like a glacier. She had both of them go to the nurses office and get a clean bill of health before they met back at the student council room.

"You ok, man?" Saji asked as they sat down.

Ichigo nodded somewhat touched at the words, he knew that he and the boy were not on the best of terms, not that he could pinpoint why. They were not unfriendly, per say, but something about the two of them did not seem to be meshing.

He nodded "Not my first fire and given how fast the sprinkler system activated... well, it could have been worse."

"Right." the boy said putting a hesitant hand on Ichigo's shoulder before walking over to take his seat. Ichigo caught Sona giving the boy a look of pride while he was not looking.

"Reya," Sona said calling the meeting to order, "Has already appraised me of what you two were doing when the fire started."

The brown haired girl nodded "I did not have time to find anything with the program, but Ichigo-San was looking around the room."

He nodded at the words "For starters I found a big poster of your sister."

"You what? How?" she asked, with a degree of incredulity.

That made him pause, "She has a TV show right?"

"Yes but there is no way that this w.." she stopped and coughed, "That Japan has her merchandise."

He tilted his head. "Why is that?", he asked.

Sona hesitated, "Because, outside of a few, very rare, copies that are on the market, her show is not available outside of...my home county."

Interesting. A deliberate dodge of his question, guess it was not his place to ask. "So the poster is significant then, considering the email I got mentioned her, I thought so as well." He recounted the notes he had found referring to a place called the bunker. "While we don't have any proof, the fact of _what_ happened to the computers and _how_ is quite the coincidence."

Sona nodded, "I would think so as well." Her eyes had a far away look, as if she was running some calculations in her head, "While you two were looking, someone got around to attempting to frame the three troublemakers. They each found a huge dump of photos on there phones and someone started rumors about them. That boy Issei as it turns out has some sense he took their phones and brought them to me." She tapped the smartphone in front of her, "The scope of the files is disturbing, I found some of myself in the list." Her tone was...well it was like his, bored, unconcerned, it masked all her feelings but those in her eyes.

"The perverted trio bought you those of their own accord?" Ichigo asked, impressed.

"No" she said "Issei took them from his friends and ran them to me before they could look into it, from what I understand the other two were fully ready to...make use of the pictures."

That...that brought a pause for thought. It said something about that boy, something that he would have thought unlikely. Did Issei Hyoudou have more hidden in his mind than the obvious, and quite large, Oppai obsession? Questions for later. "I managed to get them cleared in the eyes of the students for now through I can only credit preparation for that." She sighed, "Does anyone have an idea of what this 'Bunker' might be?"

"Can everyone be quiet for a few moments?" Reya asked. They all looked at her, but her eyes were closed. They fell silent as she took hold of some invisible book and opened it, her facial features were furrowed in concentration.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at it and Tsubasa, noticing the expression, leaned over and whispered "She has a photographic memory and some sort of mental organization technique." she smiled at her council member, "It is quite something", her voice sounded strong and confident like her Kaichou, only her eyes hinted at the strain she was under.

Reya paused her finger on an invisible page, and started reading aloud, "As I walked through the streets of my city, I can only laugh at the secrets known to me. How the sewers were deliberately made to allow the smuggling of illegal material. The remnants of the world war that hide under the earth, the shelters and bunkers, some covered by houses, some forgotten to time. Only I know of them, only I have taken the time to find them all." she stopped reciting and opened her eyes. "The rest is a lot of self aggrandizement, but it is the only mention of a bunker that I can think of in this city's history. Granted, they could be talking about an abandoned building that they call 'The Bunker', but it is a start."

"Has anyone checked if any of the computer club is on campus?" Ichigo asked.

Tsubasa shook her head, saying, "Soon as the fire happened Kaichou sent us out looking. All of them had left school in a hurry.", She made a growling sound, "So I'm inclined to think the worst right now."

"There is no proof yet." Sona said as a warning. "But that does not mean we can't look into this 'Bunker'." She drummed her fingers in thought, "Still, the fact that they had something of my sister's…" she trailed off then made a sound of annoyance, "I will need to make a few calls." After she looked up at the clock, she said, "School is almost over I want everyone to take a break. Go play basketball, take a nap, go do something relaxing, as I will need you all at your best." Ichigo got up and stepped away and held back a smirk as no one else seemed inclined to follow his example. "That is an order by the way," Sona said to her people "Relax."

Tsubasa made a sound he could not quite place but she got up and nodded "K-Kaichou." She looked at him, "Basketball does sound fun right now." He thought about it for a moment then nodded, "I'll meet you there."

Sona opened her mouth to say something else, a hint of indignation flaring in her eyes, but she suppressed it with some effort. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, but the girl made it a point not to look at his eyes….strange.

Basketball did sound relaxing right now, he had some energy to burn, but it was not the same for the rest of the people around him. He could imagine what they were feeling right now, the psychological pain that left you with indigestion, the constant mental worry that ate away at the brain. He had gone through that sort of state for weeks on end and did not wish that on anyone. Training and battle, as horrible as that was, had been the only relief for him.

He got up and stretched out a little bit glancing at Tsubasa, the girl smiled at him and said, "Meet you there, we need to change clothes."

"True. The school uniform is many things, but sports gear is not one of them."

"Tsubaki, I need you for a moment. There is a matter we need to discuss."

"Of course, Kaichou."

Saji looked torn, hanging back, clearly wanting to stay, that was until Momo and Tomoe both grabbed him at the same time and dragged him off. The boy looked confused and Ichigo shook his head, the boy was dense as lead….Why did he feel like the pot speaking to a kettle?

He made use of one of the restrooms to change quickly into shorts and a tie shirt, and made his way to the Gym. Most students were either gone or leaving but as his luck would have it, "Nice~", a voice said as he crossed the courtyard. He glanced at a black haired girl, one he had not seen before and something about her set him on edge. She looked harmless enough, cute in the school uniform. She was appraising him with her eyes like others had done but there was something stronger behind it. Something about her eyes that told him he needed to avoid this girl.

So he did, ignoring the words, though light giggles drifted behind him, and as he reached the gym and glanced back to where she was and noticed her attention had shifted entirely. She was looking at a group of the boys, her back now turned to him. Her body language was almost predatory as she turned her head to watch them leave the school.

But it seemed she had some sort of instinct as well as she whirled back easily as a ballet dancer to catch him watching. Her expression was pleased as she smiled a lovely smile at him and licked her lips very slowly, deliberately...given how he had been responding to the girls around him now he honestly expected to feel some sort of thrill go through him but all the motion did was fill him with a deep sense of fear...yes, that was it.

Just like with Serafall, before she found out who he was, he was feeling a fear of what she could do. Now, because he did not know what he could do to stop her, made it worse. He turned away and went into the gym, his heart pounding with adrenaline. Good lord, he was becoming a rabbit jumping and jittering at the slightest possible thing. He did not have any supernatural sense any longer, just pure human instincts.

Slowly he felt normality come back to him, and despite it only being a guess he wondered if it coincided with the girl leaving the area. He shook his head and walked over to the supply room and retrieved a basketball. The door opened behind him and Tsubasa's familiar footsteps echoed, "You ready?", he heard her ask.

He turned around, saying "Yes le..", and his words trailed off. Tsubasa Yura was what one would consider a good looking women, he was aware of that...He was. But today she had decided to really use her gym clothes, the tight black top had been replaced by white which was not that big of a deal...it was the blue bloomers she was using that caught him off guard. She paused in her walk and...and posed which made him realise he was staring. He coughed and turned away his face flushing he was not prepared for this.

"I'm ready to play." she said and he could hear the grin in her voice.

"What happened to your pants?"

"Hmm? Oh, they are in the wash so I had to make do with these."….Ichigo Kurosaki hated bloomers. He really hated them, distracting small pieces of fabric that were not anywhere close to being decent.

Tsubasa walked around him and took the ball, "You like?", she asked.

He kept his eyes above the belt but if they were going to play basketball that was not going to last long, "I liked the pants better", he said.

"Liar", she said without heat, doing a slow spin to gave him a good look at how it fit her...and fit her it did. She laughed and it sounded real, "Oh thank goodness", she said.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

"Your eyes.", she said "I like them on me, it does not make me feel used or disturbed. It's nice to know that feeling when you are afraid of other people looking." Her eyes held something hot in them as she met his gaze, "Thank you."

Girls were so confusing sometimes. "Right", he coughed and took a step back as her eyes drifted down then back up at him flaring with triumph. He grimaced at his treacherous body, he hated bloomers, he told it that. "I need a drink of water", he said turning away and some time to mentally prepare and he was sure she knew that, something in the giggles that followed his slow walk. As he drank his fill and his body calmed he once again felt the sensation that he could be compared to a pot. He snorted if Tsubasa wanted to use him to get her confidence in herself back, that was her right, he would help her however he could. Now prepared for what he would see Ichigo turned back and held out a hand, "My ball first.", he said and the games began.

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The sun was fading as he walked out of the men's locker room fresh off of an ice cold shower that had given him a semblance of control back to his body. Tsubasa was waiting for him mercifully she had pants on and looked to be on the receiving end of a shower herself. "Well that was fun in many more ways than one." she grinned.

"Ya, ya." he said feeling a bit of annoyance settle in now that he had blood in his brain again. To say that she had been...physical in that game would have been an understatement. Still if it helped her then he could not be too mad. "What are you going to do now?"

"Well Kaichou has not called us back so I was...hoping to hang around you."

"It's going to be boring."

"Really?"

"How much do you like libraries?" She winced. "Given what I learned in the computer club room I want to see if there are any books that might have a clue."

"You do know how big the library is, right?"

"I do."

"You have a much better chance finding a needle in a haystack."

He shook his head "Not as much as you might think, there are only two era's that I will have to look at when bunkers were popular, World War Two and the Cold War. Given our people's policy of non aggression and demilitarization that makes WW2 the more likely time. So I know when to look and since it is a place either in or around town I know the subject to look for Kuoh City. That narrows down the books significantly." She stared at him surprised. "I was number 3 in my school", he said, "More to spite my teachers but I still listened and learned."

He was a few steps away from her before she followed, and together they made there way to the library. On the way he texted Reya figuring she would know the place better and the girl met them at the entrance. "Ichigo-San, Yura-Chan." she smiled.

Tsubasa looked her and nodded, "You're looking better."

She gave a small bow, "So I get what you're looking for and it makes sense I have a list already of books and their places."

"Your mind is something else." Ichigo said with a shake of his head, the girl glowed at the complement and hurriedly turned and unlocked the doors. She handed them each lists and locations and as three they scoured the library levels and met at a group of tables each with an arm full of books. Some of them he questioned the validity off such as a local guide to food, but she was the expert.

Ichigo had taken his spot on a beanbag and held in his hand a book on the local history of Kuoh, Tsubasa had taken the spot next to him, very close in fact, and Reya had given them an amused look before picking her spot. He was about halfway through skimming the first book when footsteps approached all three glanced up to see Sona and Tsubaki make their way into the library. By the way she beelined for them it was certain she knew they were here...perhaps Reya had told her.

She paused as she looked on them spending a second or so to glare at Tsubasa who responded with a grin and a waggled eyebrow. He wondered what that tension between them was all about, "May I ask what you three are doing?" she said.

"Research." Reya responded for them face set in a smile, "Ichigo-San's idea was to see if there were any historical records about bunkers built in the WW2 and Cold War era's." She patted a stack of three books she had gotten through, via the blessing of a photographic memory, "I have have three possibilities so far, it was four, but I checked the internet and one had been demolished to make room for the shopping mall."

Sona nodded at him, "Well done.", she said before shaking her head, "Through I would have prefered if you had told me about it rather then me getting a call from your father Yura" The blue haired girl made a choking sound and yanked out her phone looking at the time.

"Crap, Crap, Crap!" she said coming to her feet.

Sona raised a hand, "I told him you were helping me with council business and I am glad to see that was not a lie." Tsubasa relaxed and her head fall back on his shoulder. Sona made a sound of annoyance and the girl moved slightly to have her head rest against a shelf.

"I found one." Ichigo said listing off the address.

Reya nodded and said she already had it, "I am very pleased with you three." Sona said, though she looked at Reya when she said it, nodding to her Fuku-Kaichou, she and Tsubaki grabbed their own books and went to sit down. Sona gave one last look at Tsubasa and took the beanbag to Ichigo's left. "We will help you get through this. Saji, Momo and Tomoe have gone home already so I would prefer if we did not mention this." They all nodded, Ichigo settled back into the bean bag and both the girls at his sides did too...a little hard perhaps as both moved back to be touching his seat. He glanced at Sona who had a book open and a serious expression on her face. His eyes traced the line of her body and her pale lovely legs which were a bit more on display than normal, with the skirt and all. There was a sensation of pain in his side and he turned his head to see Yura glaring at him, her thumb and forefinger latched onto his side. She let go and turned back to her reading...he blinked. Perhaps he had been staring for longer then he had meant to.

"Thank you." he said quietly which only seemed to agitate her more, much to his confusion. Sona did not seem to notice or she pretended like she did not. He shook his head and pulled open his book and got to work.

It was a couple hours in that he noticed something odd. He would admit that he was starting to feel a bit tired that was natural, normal. But the girls around him, if anything, seemed to grow more energetic, lively perhaps, as the night came on. With no one else here they spoke freely about what they were finding and passing theories and observations about what might lead them to this Bunker.

A slow picture was beginning to form as Tsubaki took charge of modern research using the internet and local city websites to glean any and all information about the current state of the bunkers they were finding. Reya had produced a map from her backpack. One to long for the backpack size, but he did not feel the need to mention that. Though he was getting more and more interested about the variety of powers he was seeing in passing, the world was really a big place.

It was late, very late, when they finished compiling and gathering the data but the girls seemed to thrive on it their animated voices echoing over the library. "So we know one was converted into a house, one was demolished, that leaves the cold war era bunker in the woods near the old observatory and the bunker under Tora Park." Sona said fingers drumming.

"So, what do we do?" Ichigo asked.

"This issue is one that started in our school, it could have hurt my people." her voice was frost coated, "We will deal with it." Her eyes seemed to glow "Tonight in fact, with luck they might not be there at all."

There was no thought of delay, the essence of resolve coloring her voice, her body, her language. He let out a breath, it was beautiful. She pulled out her phone and nodded at them "Get ready...", there was a pause as she glanced at him and blinked. As if she has forgotten something, not that he was there, but that he was...different. It was only for a moment and she smiled, "Let's get going, the rest will meet us at the park." They all stood, and he watched their backs straighten, their body language shift at her tone. They had done things like this before he decided, it was going to be interesting to watch.

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Tomoe, Momo and Saji were waiting for them when they got there. Each had their serious face on, Saji did not even seem to mind Ichigo's presence, such was his focus. Sona had been on the phone for the whole walk and the three seemed to know what was going on, "Since we got here first," Saji said as they approached, "We went ahead and found the entrance, through we did not go within a hundred feet of it."

"Well done you three." Sona nodded at him to lead the way. The boy glowed under the praise and motioned with his hand. They all went down the sidewalks for a short way, it was the path he himself had walked many a time in these past weeks. Then, they turned off the path and Saji led them down a slightly worn trail into the forest, just barely visible if you were standing on it.

With every step something like background noise seemed to buzz in his head, an unpleasant sensation that grew with every step. From his spot in the group he saw nothing of it on the faces of the others, and as they moved he began to feel something very much like dread build in him. Between the noise and the sensation it was enough to make him flee if he had not known one thing. The feelings were not his, he knew his own dread and this was not it. Dread was staring down Aizen, dread was witnessing your sister being taken away from you. No, this dread was not his, it was too...fake.

He almost did not realize they stopped, the buzzing was so loud. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to Tsubasa, "Are you alright?"

Ichigo winced at the thought of how much was showing on his face, but nodded. She looked like she was about to say something when Sona made a sound. They both glanced over at their leader as she approached the door to the bunker, it was a metal thing wedged into the side of a hill. The metal was covered in markings which seemed to be spray painted graffiti though there was an inordinate amount of pentagrams. Sona was glaring at the door like it had insulted her. She glanced back to him seeming to read his discomfort and turned back to the door nodding to herself. She waved her hand and turned it into a stretch at the last second but the buzzing vanished and the dread dissippered.

He only noticed because he had been looking, but several of the pentagrams looked to have had their paint smeared. Sona raised her hand to her ear and though nothing seemed to happen Tsubasa stiffened and took a step next to him. Her look one of wariness, one that spoke of a readiness for combat. Hmm...he rolled his shoulders and surreptitiously began to stretch his legs and arms. Reya walked forward to stand beside her Kaichou staring at the door as well. "Hmm, they might have left it unlocked." she said after a moment walking forward and putting her palm on one of the bigger pentagrams smearing it and...was that a spark?

She heaved on the door, which opened with little sound, the gears on the inside glistening with grease, something that would have spoken of recent activity if the odd spiritual pressure had not been an indication. Behind the door was a long concrete staircase going down almost twenty feet into a lightly red-tinted gloom. The sound of some sort of electronic music echoed from within, Sona took the head of the group with the others falling in front and behind him putting him firmly in the middle. He did not think that was an accident as they made there way down the stairs, the door was silently closed by Saji and it left the stairs in a solid darkness with only the dim red lights of the tunnel it led down to as a guide. All around him the members of the student council quieted and slowed their breathing. These high school students knew what they were doing, despite the fact that there was eight of them they hardly made more noise than one person. Under the cover of the music, that steadily grew louder, that noise was unnoticed.

Under the red lights he began to see lines of wiring and more drawings on the walls, lots of it. He could make nothing of what kind of markings they were, these symbols was deliberate and had a pattern but that was all he could tell. Each one he saw was painstakingly drawn into the walls and the curved ceilings. But that was not all he noticed, both Sona and Reya were at certain points in certain places smudging the symbols. The paint was dry but where they touched it it ran like water, this too had a pattern to it.

The music faded suddenly and a voice echoed down the tunnel. "All right, All right everyone! I need quiet, my show is coming on." They walked about a dozen more feet before a new song echoed through the bunker. "It's time for Miracles!", said a voice followed by an instrumental. Sona almost tripped mid stride as a familiar voice echoed down the halls. "Miracle Levia-Tan!" Ichigo recognized Serafall as her voice erupted into song, her theme song he would guess.

The lighting changed to more normal colors as the space opened onto a rather large circular room, fully lit by dozens of lights, criss crosses of wiring and cables layered the floor. The origins of such seemed to be two of the rooms connected to the central room which glowed a dull red. Cots and bean bags were scattered haphazardly throughout the room, two of which were occupied by high schoolers. The far side of the room was host to a line of computers and desks, most of which had someone in them. On the wall opposite from the hallway was a tv, a high end sixty inch plasma screen. It however was connected to something very odd. Gold wiring had been wrapped around it's sides, not going over the screen but certainly over the back. Each side of the television had a hole bored through it and a band of black rope covered in more of that lettering stretched from the holes. The ends of the rope were unwound into three strands and had been tied around black stakes hammered into the concrete. Behind the tv a long copper pole rose up, some of the gold wiring around the tv had been encircled around it as well. At the top of the copper pole a crystal had been set into three sharp prongs sticking out of it and it had a faint red glow emanating from within it. To either side of the tv large posters of Sona's sister were taped to the walls. They also had symbols drawn on them that seemed to raise Sona's hackles just a little.

He recognized all the people he saw here, each and every one of them was a member of the Kouh Academy computer club high school division. It almost came a surprise to see that they were not in school uniforms if only because lots of people he knew wore them after school was over. They were mostly dressed in black tie shirts, black shorts or skirts, a whole lot of earrings and makeup that did not appear on there student pictures. The clothing had quite a few pentagrams on them and about a dozen sets of black boots which almost no one was wearing here.

"That's it?", Reya said voice quiet but shocked, "This is what they were doing?" Sona silenced her with a look and a sharp hand motion. They filed out into the room and at first no one noticed, that of course could not last as they the made a very intimidating line in front of the exit.

"Oh no!" a girl said falling out of her cot and scrambling backwards, "Oh shit!"

That got everyone's attention as the girls of the computer club knocked over chairs in their haste to get up and face the intruders. Serafall's voice echoed in the room, "In the name of Love and Justice, cease your evil!"

"Mia Tanaka!" Sona said in a voice like hoarfrost.

The girl was already on her feet knocking over the small table that had the remote on it, the device fell and the screen winked to darkness. "K-Kaichou," she blinked in surprise, "how did you..?"

"Mia Tanaka," Sona said again, "what have you done?"

The girl was small several inches smaller than Sona, she had normal dark hair with pleasing, if sharp, features. She wore a black tie shirt with matching skirt, two ankle length striped socks covered her feet. As her eyes found him the sharpened into near beams of hatred, around her neck a quartz crystal hung on a chain of black steel it glowed red as hissed, "You!"

The other members of her club looked a lot less sure than their leader, "Nothing of your concern, Kaichou." she replied eyes still locked on him.

"And the distribution of photos of my fellow students in moments of vulnerability are not my concern?"

One of the other girls spoke up she was a bit taller and a bit more heavy set, "T-that was an accident."

"Shut up Byte!" Mia snarled cowing the other girl with a look.

"Oh, an accident, you say?" Sona said reasonably "So the blackmail of my friends was an accident?"

No one answered her. "How could you have done this to your classmates?" The frost had gone from her voice, replaced by a deep disappointment. "Do you understand what you have done? The chaos and heartbreak, the fear you have created among people just trying to learn and grow. Your actions have caused damage to every student you know, every one of them was your classmate."

Several took and uncomfortable step back but Mia did not seem fazed, "This is not about blackmail, they are never going to be affected by this. If no one had noticed then everyone would have been fine!" she half snarled. The quartz glowed a bit brighter.

"What are you doing then?" Sona demanded though something about her voice was off, she knew something or rather she knew why they were doing it. This question lacked the sincerity of her previous ones, why ask it at all then save for show.

Mia grinned, "You would not believe how hard it is to get good coverage down here, or down there."

Reya made a sound of disbelief as Saji said, "Wait..this was all over cable?"

Ichigo had no idea what was going on, save for the fact that these computer club teens seemed to be some sort of cult? But a cult of what?

"Anyway," Mia growled, "Get out of here if you know what's good for you, not only are you trespassing you might just find more than you bargained for."

"So pointless a contract," Sona said "Who, I wonder, would want this?" The words seemed to take Mia aback through they made no sense to him.

"What do you know Kaichou, you and your fancy house, with your fancy limo, lording above us all on your throne. Least you could do is show us peasants some skin." She licked her lips. "You do look really good after all, there are so many busty girls that you seem petite by comparison, quite fetching really."

Ichigo felt the anger flare all around him as every member of the student council shifted, every eye locked on Mia. Tsubasa had her teeth bared and a growl building in her throat. Tomoe and Momo had lost all semblance of kindness. Saji, well his fists were clenched his breathing heavy, even Tsubaki had raised her hand to her glasses. Only Sona seemed unaffected, "You traded your fellow classmates' bodies and dignity for personal gain.", she said taking a step forward, "I don't know who you have given them too, but I can promise you, I will find them and they will pay for it."

That got a laugh, "You, a high school girl taking on Lady Paimon?", the laughter spread from Mia to the rest of her group "That would be a sight."

"And now things make more sense." Sona said and Ichigo wondered if she realised she had said that aloud.

"Do you have any idea what is out there _Kaichou_?" She made the word sound like an insult. "How big this world is? How much is one small school wroth really? A couple hundred girls had their ass photographed, so what? This world has monsters in it, this world has horror and chaos like you wouldn't believe." She leaned forward, "Humans are bad, really bad, but the things out there can be so much worse. You think that your disappointment effects me, when I, through my hard work and sacrifice have made it so those that are my friends, my family are safe, protected and comfortable?" She shook her head. "Why should I care what someone wants to do with some nudie pics when it buys me what I want?" Her quartz was glowing even brighter.

Sona shook her head. "This is world is much better than it could be _child_." She said the word with such contempt that it rocked the Computer Club leader back. "You know not of what you speak, you have no conception of how bad this world could be." Ichigo could not help but nod wondering if what he knew and what she knew were the same. "And even if that was the case, there is still no justification for this."

"Did you not hear what I said, bitch?" Mia snarled, the word would have sent every single member of the student council at her like a wave of unstoppable fury, but a twitch of Sona's hand kept them from moving. "This world is filled with Monsters!" She stretched out the last word. "Things so much bigger than us, than you, than me, than your fucking school or these fucking pictures. Morality has no meaning compared to that and I am not even that bad."

Sona spared him one single glance, one filled with emotion and regret, then she turned back to the computer club, "Take them.", she said.

Her student council exploded into motion fast, so much faster than humans could be Saji has almost reached Mia before she could scream a word. The lights suddenly flashed, Ichigo had encountered weapons that had done this to him before and his body reacted, his eyes slamming shut. The world still flashed red under his eyes and when he opened them, the computer club was on the floor and the Student council, while still standing, had been caught by surprise, in front of him Sona rubbed furiously at her eyes.

He caught a glimpse of Mia as she dived into one of the rooms that glowed red and in a split second decision ran after her. The door began to drop on its own and he dived under it rolling to his feet, he passed two generators that seemed to run on red crystal...odd. He followed the footsteps down the dimly lit hall and could hear and feel himself catching up. This girl was not an athlete and to his relief was not superhuman. He pounded out of an opening into a large room, it was as old as the bunker was and looked to have once been a storage room, only empty shelves lined the room now. The door to the room began to close, the echoing of rusty gears that hurt the ears with its pitch.

"Oh, thank Lady Paimon it was you who followed me." Mia was across the room and had paused in front of a staircase. "You know I really like Sona-san, she is a lovely girl with only the best in mind, so kind and understanding about your problems." She shrugged, "I would much rather run from her, I see no point in hurting such a lovely little flower. You on the other hand," her fingers closed around her quartz "You make me mad."

"Oh?" he asked stepping forward.

"Yes, you ruined everything with pure dumb luck!" He did not answer that, taking another step forward. "I tried again and again to summon that goddess of a women to this place, the one they call Serafall, the one who stars in the greatest show on and under the earth." Her face went a little red at the words, "And It finally worked, I must have done something right for her to be here, in this city." There was the sound of teeth grinding against teeth "But not only do I not know about it, I find her trouncing around with some muscle bound pig!"

Perhaps her sanity was not the only thing in question here. His foot raised to move forward but he stopped suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Mia opened her hand and quartz dust fell to the ground. The red light within suffused her, pushing into her skin, her body causing a glow to eliminate from her very being. A heady scent filled the air as Mia's dark hair began to dance with light red power. Her eyes glowed like two burning coals. "Oh no." he whispered.

"Well," she said raising her hand to look at it, "I don't think I meant to do that but," she let out a pleased breath, "Wow, it feels amazing, is this what monsters feel like all the time?"

Ichigo tensed, setting himself, he had no idea what she had done, but knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was in real trouble. "Hmm, I'm not a murderer yet," she glanced at him as one might a gnat, "Though, I suppose there is always a start, and some muscle brained bully with far to much luck on his side," the look gained a sharp, sinister, smile, "I suppose you will do, who knows perhaps I won't kill you."

There was an explosive movement as she half ran, half stumbled, at him, her motions odd, distorted by her own speed. It made sense in its own way, she had no experience with greater than human ability. Another issue for her is that he was ready, his body sliding his back leg around and twisting out of the way. He swung his closed fist down at empty air having to trust in his mental calculations of where she would be.

They were not as good as he would have liked as the blow was supposed to hit the back of the neck and stun the opponent. But Mia was just too fast and it struck her in the back drawing a shout of pain. He hurled himself through the empty space between the shelves just avoiding a wild blow that whistled through the air and dented the metal struts they collided with.

Mia pulled back her hand turning it over to look at it in wonder. "Wow, this really is power." Her eyes snapped up to him and she gripped the empty shelf and with a snarl of effort tipped it over. He rolled under another shelf and then another as they started to topple like dominos. His back hit the wall at the same time the last shelf slammed into it, held up by the solid concrete. Ichigo regained his feet hearing footsteps. Fighting her here would be foolish, it was too small and cramped. His eyes focused on the open stairway in front of him, he had not realised that his rolling had taken him to where the exit was. Above he could see the smallest fragment of light from a slightly open door. Ichigo did not hesitate, he dashed for the stairs taking them five at a time, while girlish laughter followed him. He prepared himself for the pain as he slammed into the bunker door with his shoulder. It flew open and even as agony seared his shoulder he could tell at once it was not broken...which was surprising.

He was out in the open area around the old bunker and got about five full strides away from the door when a dark shape launched itself out of the shadows within. Mia screamed in joy at her flying leap which took her over him. She landed badly and should have broken her legs with how hard and off-balance she hit the ground. But the girl's red aura just flashed and some of the light went out around her ankles. "This is so amazing, I honestly almost feel bad for you." A lot of the anger seemed to be gone as she marveled at her own power.

Thankfully he had learned the hard way of always keeping watch, always ready to defend. When a man could attack you with thousands of blades from every angle it was the only thing you could do. Even as the words came out of her mouth she lunged at him. It was a straight leap that he read like book and was out of the way before she even left the ground. The girl hurtled past him rolling clumsy and getting back to her feet. She turned back to face him when he hit her with a flying side kick to her chest with all the power and speed he had. There was grunt as she was launched off her feet, guess her power had not increased her weight. But it must have done something to her skin as more agony seared up his leg to throb in time with his arm. Again nothing was broken which seemed, at this point, like the purest luck.

"Ouch." Mia laughed getting to her feet "That kind of hurt you pig." She was giggling as she rubbed her hand over her chest. "Didn't you ever learn not to hit a girl you brute?" He did not reply, he merely shifted to a basic stance fists closed hands up. Wait, this girl was stronger and faster then him...so why was he using karate? His hands opened, the answer was that his only other option was a less used, less developed, talent for Aikido. He was better than an amateur at that art, but nothing more. He knew a lot of the simple and basic maneuvers. It had not been a style intended for someone like him. He had a lot of advantages at Okinawan Karate plus he would fully admit that when he had been learning it he had...not enjoyed its defence's less flashy nature. But his mother had insisted, she wanted him to learn something defensive to face his bullies, not offensive.

She ran at him slower this time, no leaping but still faster than human. Ichigo had watched her start, had matched her breathing, blocked out all distractions. Waiting for the right moment for the second he needed to move, she was ready for him to dodge to the right, it was he had done twice. This time it was the gentlest of side steps she even caught the edge of his shirt and tore it off. His hand curved around the back of her neck as his other hand caught her wrist, he twisted his body with little effort and Mia flew off her feet, he let go just before she slammed into the ground with all the force she had generated.

This seemed to work better as the air was driven from her lungs, her mouth opened to gasp for air only for his foot to slam down on her neck. This move was a street fight attack. Her eyes bulged as the little air she had was cut off. He then drove his fist into her face while bending his knees and using the whole weight of his body. Her head bounced off the ground, while pain shot through his hand. Real terror stained her eyes, one of her hands moving up in a warding gesture.

Instinct warned him, nothing solid, nothing he could quantify, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he needed to be away from her so he abandoned his offensive and hurled himself back just before a curtain of red fire sprang to life, a barrier between him and his opponent. Even a dozen feet away he could feel the heat of it, the flame burned a bloody red and the smell of sulfur and brimstone cut through the scent of the evening forest like a knife. But the fire made no sound, no crackle, no roar. He could see through it somewhat, a shadow rising up, a coughing fit as the figure gasped in the sulfur smelling air.

The fire died to nothing leaving only a line of blackened grass and dirt, Mia just stared at him in fear, blood dripping from her mouth and nose, which he had not managed to break, but it still must have hurt. The red light had died all the way up her legs leaving only her torso, arms and head glowing.

He saw the moment the fear transformed into rage, something dark and black which would have swallowed him if it could have. The girl was taking solace from her fear in wrath, something he knew a lot about. Red flames erupted from her hands and she screamed, a throaty croaking roar followed by sending an arc of pure hellfire at him. Ichigo ran, he turned tail and ran. It was a simple mental command to cause his body to release all limiters. Humans were much stronger and faster when they had to be. Of course this was horrible for them in the long run but on the bright side this gave them a better chance at a long run.

The fire hit where he had been standing and spread like magma, killing grass, blacking soil and heating his lower back and legs to uncomfortable levels. But he had gotten out of the blast zone and hurled into the forest like a man possessed. He dove to the side into the cover of a large old maple just as a gout of hellfire smashed into its trunk. His arms reddened with third degree burns as the heat flowed around the trunk. In the instant after the fire ended he hurled himself from cover and deeper into the dark forest as the maple went up like it was kindling, the fire devouring the ancient tree like it was little more than trash.

"Get...back….here!" Mia called out hoarsely, still out of breath. She sent several jets of fire with each word and they burned through whatever they hit like it was a matchstick. The red glow had receded to halfway up her belly. "Kill you!" she snarled, "I will kill you!" Her whole body ignited and she hurled herself in his general direction. Thank the gods she did not know exactly where he was otherwise the silent explosion of flame would have killed him rather than throwing him off his feet and tumbling into the open. Still he landed hard and badly, something should have broken as he tumbled helplessly.

For a moment as he landed hard against the ground, his full weight on his shoulder, he thought for a moment he could see a _faint blue light shine in his blood veins,_ but that could have easily been a trick of the eye as he had hit his head twice in this tumble. He must have passed out for a second or two and blinked his way back to fully consciousness, surprised to find himself on his feet.

A good section of the forest was on fire but no sound could be heard from it, only the cracking of trees and the light it sent up gave any indication that something was happening. A figure moved out of the flames. Mia had burned her own clothing up in the inferno and stalked fully naked towards him. The glow had gone from her chest and only her forearms and head maintained the otherworldly power.

His must have hit his head harder than he thought as his mind wandered and he apprised the monster of a girl coming to kill him. She was normal, a simple modest chest that anywhere else would have been in line with most girls her age. She was not toned or built like athletes, she was simply thin, perhaps her lifestyle or eating habits, and there was even a cute patch of pubic hair that was burnt off as he looked.

He blinked blearily at that girl wondering if she noticed the very ends of her hair were on fire, through it did not spread to the rest of it, but the rest of the hair she might have had on her body was gone, fed to the silent red flame. "How are you still alive?" she howled as the fires on her hands extended and warped like two whips of pure flame. They lashed towards him clumsily and, to his surprise, he could still move. Deep back in his brain the rational fear he had been feeling had taken a back seat. His head ached as he avoided the lash of fire that nearly split him in two. It did catch and melt about six inches into the concrete bunker behind him and burn his skin slightly just from its proximity. Mia went wild, swinging and wheeling her arms like some demented toy, the fire whip biting into earth, concrete and wood eating through all with equal abandon. His leg gave out as he was forced to hurl himself into the the air and clear a line of fire that would have taken his feet. He landed on it hard and his back slammed into the ground, there was a scream of triumph and a lash of fire came down at him like sword.

He could only stare that the blazing silent lash, his skin reddening as it came close and then, to his surprise, it vanished. He sat up on principle to look at his would-be killer, the red glow had gone from her forearms and hands only her brow still glowed. To be fair she looked down her hands which still blazed with fire in shock "No, no, no, no," she said pawing at her head, "That power can't be gone, not that fast. She said an hour at least."

"Probably did not expect the use of such firepower." he thought. He would have to guessed that the fire must have been draining whatever empowered her much more than the physical enhancement. He got to his feet putting some weight on his left leg and feeling a bit of pride that it held. Somehow, someway he was still alive, still unbroken, mostly due to his opponent's inexperience and what he would guess was copious amounts of luck.

She found him then and charged blazing hands extended like she was going to choke the life out of him. His frazzled mind noted that she was slow now, or at least not faster than human, not even peak human. Still fast but...he was running at full capacity, at least physically, mentally not so much. His body had released all limits and was tearing itself apart to give him strength. Mia swung her hands at like like they were blazing swords, he hardly felt the pain of their proximity as he weaved around her pathetic attacks. His hands were opened and flat like blades he avoided a strike and struck at the elbow, pain shot through his hand but Mia screamed in agony.

The fire in that hand went out, sensing weakness he went low dropping almost to the ground as a sweeping arm of fire went over him and stuck at the knee cap with the ridge of his hand. The blow hit right between the bone and the knee and the leg fell inward, Mia was still screaming as she fell the dying fire in her hand still reaching out for him. He took a risk and came up from the ground with an uppercut with everything and a prayer on it. He was just faster than her.

Blazing agony flared from the fire that had almost touched his skin as his fist collided with her chin, the blow might have broken her neck but the fire went out. The red light on her brow flowing down to her chin a heartbeat before it met his fist. There was a horrible crack as her head snapped back and the small girl was driven several feet into the air before arcing to come down on her back hard. The red light vanished from her, the forest fire behind him faded with it. There was a concussion, almost like an explosion as the metal door was torn off its solid steel hinges and went flying about a dozen feet in the air as Tsubasa Yura came careening out into the evening light.

From her stance it looked like she had shoulder charged the door, he did not remember it closing but who was he to complain. She was a lot more effective at busting the door open than him, it was almost enough to make him laugh, if he did not hurt so bad. Tsubasa stared at the carnage before her, at the naked unconscious girl on the ground and at him who looked like he had been through a good boil in a cooking pot, or a bad day at the beach with no sunscreen. That did get a laugh from him which hurt all over he stumbled and pitched forward. Thankfully Tsubasa made use of her inhuman speed to catch him gently her arm under his back her other under his legs and carried him like a princesses who weighed five pounds. "Don't worry we will get you help." She sounded panicked.

"Not like anything is broken" he said through the buzz in his thoughts, "I should have at least a broken shoulder and several ribs, but nothing? That is weird, right?"

"Your in shock." she said.

"Of course he is." Another voice said as Sona hurled out of the bunker the rest of her peerage in tow. He could see the shock in her expression as she gazed out onto the destruction. "We need to get him to a hospital."

"Right Kaichou." Tsubasa teased as if to jump but Sona stopped her.

"No, let me teleport us there."

"I don't think it's shock," he said filing away that teleport comment for later, "I just hit my head a few times when she exploded. Oh that reminds me, make sure I did not break her neck if you would, I don't want her to die but given the circumstances I had to use all the force I had." The throb in his head was growing worse it made everything harder to do, to think, to speak, but words just kept coming. "But after that a hospital sounds nice," he glanced at himself, "Though I don't know if they treat lobsters." he tried to laugh at his joke, at his burning red skin, but that almost knocked him out.

Sona was at his side in an instant, a soft loving hand pressed against his cheek. A sensation like cool spring water flowed from that hand and blessed relief flooded his mind. "You know," he said looking into her violet eyes, "That girl was right about one thing, you are beautiful." Somewhere in the back of his mind Reason and its twin Decency did a face palm and hid in the corner. Sona went crimson from the tips of her toes to the roots of her gorgeous black hair her mouth moved but no words came out.

Tsubasa made a sound of annoyance and...envy? Her arms tightened on him infinitesimally which hurt like hell. His head turned to her. "What? You're beautiful to baka." His head kept turning until it was on her shoulder. "Thanks for the bridal carry by the way, it's quite an experience. Never had it done to me before, always been the one doing it." Slowly blackness began to encroach on his eyesight as the girl holding him turned as red as her Kaichou. "I wonder if they all felt as safe and secure as I do, right now?" and with that thought he surrendered to blackness and fled the pain of his body into unconsciousness.

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 **Hope you enjoyed it, this arc will end next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy the final chapter of this Arc.**

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Hell was not as bad as they made it out to be, it was simply another place to live if you were of the right sort. Perhaps, in the beginning, there had been more focus on the 'sinners hell' aspect, but now a days the truly evil souls went to Hades or several others places that still acted as a hell. Of course there were exceptions to that rule, souls of mortals who had pissed off someone in the Seventy Two families but thankfully Stephan was not counted as one of them.

He nodded at the cook as he received the platter containing Lady Paimon's meal for the evening. It was covered, of course, not even the smell of what amazing delicy seeping out. Five hundred years ago he might have looked, four hundred he might have been curious, three hundred had a passing interest. Now a day's this was little more than part of his many jobs as a minor butler of the House of Paimon. It was not the afterlife he had envisioned for himself as farmer in fifteenth century England. It had been a hard life of servitude and toil with little comfort for him. No wife, no kids, only a small home he had build himself and even that was poor. The land had never worked for him, not his fault of course, as he had been given the worst plots, the worst tools, and the worst seeds. It happened when your father was executed for planning a rebellion against the local lord.

The church had been no help, it's priest firmly in the pocket of the local lord. Only the monk that made his way through the town a few times a year had shown anything that might have resembled holiness. What had his name been? It had been so long he did not remember the name of the lord he had hated so much, the people he had despised, the girl he had lusted after. But that man, that monk, had remained if he focused on it. Yes, "Brother Daimon." he whispered as he made his way through the mansion. Brother Daimon, a man who had less than he but shone with love and compassion that had saved his life, when the son of the local lord and his lackeys had decided the punishment for the sins of the father extended to the son. Daimon had been there and stared them down, his words of scripture like a whip, his wrath like that of the Son of God casting out the temple money changers.

They had not come back, but after that the few people that even acknowledged him turned their noses. The priest had excommunicated him for demon summoning, which had been horse shit and everyone knew it. They would have burned him alive otherwise. His home was taken from him and he was exiled from the only place he had even known. With little to his name and nowhere to go he had picked a direction and started walking. When at last he had collapsed, after a full day of walking, he had laid there expecting to die. He remembered the shadows of great stone's so out of place in the empty grassland around him.

But it had not been his curse to die that day, someone had saved him, some _thing_ had saved him. His hate, his anger, his loss, and the place he had wandered to to die. It had been a magical place, one he knew now would be later called Stonehenge, a confluence of ley lines and stellar alignments. In that place, at that time, his emotions had been enough, and she had appeared. A woman of such beauty that had made him weep to see it, blue of skin and gloriously naked, a tail swaying behind her. She came to him and took him away. Fed him, clothed him and allowed him to share her bed. He had honestly thought he had passed away into heaven. The women had asked for his story and after hearing it offered him what he wanted the most, Vengeance. She would tear down all that had beaten him and destroy it. All it would cost was his soul, his servitude for however long his existence continued.

Looking back those words had been very specific, but he had been an unlearned peasant so he felt some lencency to his old self, and in return for his oath what a vengeance she had wreaked upon them. The Lady had explained it in detail to him when they had shared her bed. She had, without compunction, slept with the lord, his lady, his son and three of his enemies. Her influence had pushed the priest out of the lord's council and much the, supposed, holy man's acquired wealth had been stolen and redistributed to a certain Brother Daimon who, as Stephan was given to understand, saved a village from hunger with said funds.

The Lady has gently pushed and prodded, revealing the infidelity of all the lord's family at the right time causing an inter-house war. At the same time all three of the lord's enemies had been tipped off and used the opportunity to attack and wipe out the lord and his household. Furthermore the lady had somehow convinced the three to unite into one family behind the strongest of the lords creating a powerful family in those times, from which she had gained influence over a large part of that land. For the final insult the lord, his name, his history and line was forgotten and Stephan had laughed himself hoarse.

Of course if he had known what was coming next...well, he would have thought about the deal a lot harder. He got to live a fairly short life, as it turned out a wandering peasant with no real idea of where he was or what he was doing did not end well. When he had died his soul had gone to her, to his Lady, his owner for all eternity or at least as long as devils lived which he was given to understand was damn near close.

He still remembered waking up, his soul placed in this manufactured body of flesh and bone. She had been the first thing he had seen upon awakening and he had declared that he was in heaven. The Lady hardly looked at him and did not seem to even acknowledge the words. "Good, he is ready. Make sure his training is done in a reasonable amount of time." She had said to the butler standing at the door.

It had taken years of rather unpleasant training by her household staff to make him understand his place, to make sure he knew that, while a fresh mortal with an unclaimed soul was worth a roll in the hay or bed, a claimed soul, who was destined to be nothing more than a servitor, was not even worth her notice. She had conquered him and had moved on to bigger and better things. It had been about three centuries before he had stopped hating her for that and only then because he had grown tired of doing so.

Stephan knocked on his Lady's door three times and waited. "Enter" her smooth voice said. She did not turn to look at him, her crimson robe draped over her like a blanket. He approached, each step perfect, no movement wasted. His lady was on her computer, a recent invention he was given to understand and one that she had made great use of, apparently. He set her meal down beside her catching a glimpse of what she was doing, pictures flickered as she moved her hands and fingers. Boy's and girls from a foreign place were in various states of nudity seeming to be unaware. Lady Paimon's eyes were wide and focused, her tongue tracing her lips. He refined from rolling his eyes, over the centuries his lady's marks for partners and possible contracts had gotten progressively younger. Still, it was not his place, so he turned around in a quick efficient motion and...stopped.

A girl was smiling at him and, with a elegant foot, kicked the door closed loud enough to draw his Lady's attention. He did not know her, but perhaps she was some new playmate of his Lady? No, that did not seem right, her clothing was far to...pink. A top of pink and white that did not cover her belly, a skirt of pink and white that came down to just above her black and pink stockings. Her dark hair and violet eyes were lovely but she was not the sort of person Lady Paimon played with.

"You have..." Paimon started to say turning only for her voice to die on her lips her eyes going wide, "...have..." she said again, but quieter. She turned and stood straightening her robe and pulling it over her open chest. "Lady Serafall." her voice was just a tad high pitched.

Stephan blinked at that taking another look at the girl. He knew the name Serafall only through his lady's rants about the, "Upstart Tart". To see his Lady be so polite was odd. He took a step to the side and moved to get around the girl and out of the room as he had no place in this conversation. However the girl lifted one finger in an almost negligent fashion. "Stay." she said and his feet were frozen to the ground making the point moot.

Oddly enough the ice did not feel freezing and he nodded, bowing at the waist, to the girl. "As you wish." The finger lowered and the ice vanished.

"If I had known you were coming, Lady Serfall, I would have been in a much more dignified state." My Lady said as she gestured to herself.

"Well, sneaking in here was kind of the point, so I would have been insulted if you had been ready."

Stephan did not try to leave the room but he did take as many steps back as he could until his back as at the wall. What was this girl doing, if Lady Paimon got mad, well, you would not hear it such was her family's power. A crimson flame that burned silently, drowning out the victim's last sounds in a crushing nothingness. He had only seen it once, on an assassin that had killed several of his fellow staff who had sold their lives to buy her the moment she needed to defend herself. They had been lucky, several servants allowed to pass on due to their heroism. He had at once envied them and wondered what was next...after all most servants had died once already.

"I see, my lady." Paimon bowed to the girl and Stephen's eyebrows tried to climb off his face. He could count on one hand the number of people he had seen her do that to, much less a girl she had been deriding just last night in a drunken rant.

"Now," the girl clasped her hands together, "You might be wondering why I have called you here today, and yes, it is going to involve an offer you can't refuse." She paused and looked at both of them her smiling face searching. Lady Paimon looked aghast and Stapan just stared. "Really, neither of you have seen the godfather?" She shook her head, "Shame, but in all seriousness," Serafall affixed Lady Paimon with a hard stare at odds with the smile, "There at matters we need to discuss."

"I...see, well then Lady Serfall could you grant me a moment to freshen up and become decent, I could have the staff pull together some lovely trifles while you wait."

"Nah," she said nonchalantly, "I had some on the set of my next episode, Meat lover supreme." she grinned at Paimon "Through, from what I have heard, you might have a different take on that phrase."

His lady's smile cracked a little. "Oh, and pray tell who would whisper that?" she replied politely.

Serafall rolled her shoulders, "Oh, you know, everyone, kind of like what you do when they aren't watching you." She her head "You people are so mean to each other it's like watching cats with their tails tied together."

Lady Paimon visibly reigned in a flare of wrath that burned her eyes scarlet. "Well that is an astute observation, Lady Serafall." Stapen noted that the Lady gave no sign she had noticed Paimon's anger.

"It is." she agreed. "Three quarters of my job is making sure you people don't kill each other in their sleep. I mean, honestly, why does a diplomat have to worry about her own people more than the foreign dignitaries she is negotiating with?" she sighed. "But, that is not what I came here to talk to you about."

"The offer I couldn't refuse?" Lady Paimon asked, the barest hint of acid in her voice.

"Ah, yes, you see Paimon you have been a very naughty girl." she made a clicking sound. "Now, I know for a fact that I and the other Maou made it quite clear to the Seventy Two families that there is one particular town, in one particular county, where their loved ones are getting an education that everyone was to leave alone. No deals, no going there, no power games, no politics, we even gave you all concessions for it." She then shook her head.

Paimon paled slightly, which was hard to see in her blue skin, but he had been around awhile so he could see the signs. "I do not know what you are talking about. I have not set one foot within a hundred miles of the place. I have not spoken any words to any mortal, nor sent any supernatural creature." She raised her hand as though giving an oath. "I have not broken the accord the Seventy Two families made with the Maou."

Serafall sighed, "The pictures behind you suggest otherwise."

Paimon glanced at her computer and hesitated. "A bunch of kids get ahold of some high grade magical gear." Serafall took a step forward the smile never leaving her face but her violet eyes hard as steel. "Underworld cable, demon powered generators, the ward rituals of Karaznva, your great grandmother, and of course," she pulled out a bag and tossed it at Paimon who caught it out of reflex, "One crystal filled with your power, that was used against my sister's peerage. Through it is dust now, your magic is all over it and the silent flames are a dead giveaway."

"I could repeat all the words I have said to you, and point out that nothing in the agreement spoke of items, nor did I have any words with some mortals you have my word."

"Not words." Serafall agreed, Stephan noted the room growing colder as Serafall took another step forward. "But, you see, I consider email and text, and message boards forms of speaking."

"You did not specify that Lady Serafall." Paimon said the name like and insult "I would suggest you be more clear in your meaning next time."

Oh dear, Stapan felt this was the worst time for his lady to lose her temper, but he could see the fire starting to build in her eyes. "You cannot come to my home and accuse me like this. You know our ways Lady Serafall. We are creatures of pacts, promises, and deals. If a Maou has trouble with the fact loopholes exist, I would question your upbringing."

Serafall took a breath, an inhale of air and an exhale of frost. "That is how it has always been," she said "Since the great Maou ruled alone, we have lived with our politics in a cycle of stagnation. Surely you see that," Serafall waved a hand at the computer behind Lady Paimon, "You alone of many in the Seventy Two have kept up with mortal advancement, how can you not see this?"

Paimon sneered, her expression one that thought she sensed weakness, "That is who we are Maou. We are devils, we tempt, with scheme, we gain power, over the millennia we have perfected that. It is not stagnation, it is merely the great art made manifest."

Serafall shook her head. "That art has led us through a dozen civil wars, thousands of deaths, so much of our history lost."

"What is lost is of no worth." Paimon said dismissively.

"And that is where we disagree, but that is a conversation for another time. I brought up that to see if you would get my point." The room stilled as Paimon blinked in confusion. "What in the underworld do you think I, Sirzechs, Falbium, and Ajuka sought to change?" The question was quiet, innocent, and gentle. The wave of her hand was not. Power filled the room, an oppressive cold matched by a will that would shake the heavens. Crimson flame leapt and died under the cold, his lady's power nothing before this creature. Stephen knew that he only remained alive because this women before him willed it so. A snapfreeze had coated much of the room though it had ignored the computer area. Paimon was slammed against, and frozen to, one of the room's walls, only her head free of diamond-hard ice.

Her anger died as swiftly as her fire had and only terror remained. Serafall gently raised her hand and grasped his Lady by her chin. "I am Serafall Leviathan." she said "I am one of the four great Maou. It was I, and my friends, who fought and won our titles by power and skill at arms. We are different, we do not care for how things have always been." It was then he noticed that the Lady Serfall was floating at eye level with Paimon, the raw power flowing off her holding her in the air. "We who watched our friends die, slaughtered by every horror you and the Seventy Two families could unleash. It was we who fought and won, we who earned this place, we who rule!" The last word was spoken so forcefully it cracked the wood. "Do not think for one moment we do not know that if any of you could, you would take us down, you would kill our loved ones and erase us from history. Do not ever think we do not know!" Paimon whimpered as the hand tightened. "We are trying with everything we have to make something that will not fall into another civil war in a hundred years, we are trying to rebuild what we lost in the Great War. Whereas you and yours scheme and plot, holding so much importance on your inbred blood that you can't see you're dying out and _we_ are trying to stop it."

She let go of Paimon, whose head slumped forward, tears of fear streaming down her face. Serafall moved to the computer and found the file she was looking for. "Pictures of my sister," she said "Nothing you were going to blackmail me with of course, you're far too cunning for that. But in a few centuries it might have been nice to have as my baby sister's star rises." She copied the file, took out the flash dive and with a wave of her hand the computer froze and with a negligent flick of her wrist it shattered apart. "So much pain for such a small thing." she said walking back over to his lady. "You know, everything I have is telling me to kill you for threatening my sister's future, it would not be hard, I am a Maou after all, and no one would dare question it. Sure there would be complaints but well you know how it would go."

"No," Paimon whispered, "Please, no."

"I did make it clear to everyone in the underworld what would happen if my sister or family was threatened, I was _painfully_ specific about what I would do." Paimon shuddered in terror, trapped like a fly in honey. Helpless, for all her power, before the Leviathan Maou. "But, I am truly sick of bloodshed." Her shoulders seemed to sag under a vast weight only she could feel. "Sick of killing, I have had enough to last me my whole life and more. So, Lady Paimon, I offer you a deal." She forced her captive's head up, and their eyes to meet, "You will swear yourself and your family to me, my goals will become your goals, your resources my resources. You and yours will serve me until the day I die and you will help me fix this mess the Seventy Two have made for themselves. You and yours will be mine and in return I will not kill you." She sighed and laughed "I know I just told you that I have had my fill of killing," she said as hundreds of razor sharp shards of ice appeared from thin air, "But make no mistake, I will Paimon. It has been a long time since I have been what anyone would call a merciful person and even longer since I have been a good one." She let go of the head in her grasp. "What is your decision?"

Paimon just nodded, the dimond ice melted into water and Stephan watched his lady slid to the floor. She took a moment to get to her knees, though she made no effort to rise. Her hand opened, revealing a black King Piece "Say it." Serafall said, her voice empty of any mirth.

"I-I," his Lady started before finding her voice, "I swear that I, and mine, will serve you, you will be as our king, we your peerage, we will follow you in all things and serve your house until the end of the world." Serafall took the king piece and her symbol branded itself onto it, she looked down at her newest vassal, eyes cold.

When she spoke her voice was that of a command, a King's command. "You and yours will follow that pact, both in spirit and in letter. So say I, as your King and should you ever break this bond you will die, your heart will stop, your brain will cease and you will tear out your own heart." The sensation of command left her voice and she reached down pulling Paimon up to her level "Also, for the last time I will tell you this and make sure everyone knows. DO NOT FUCK WITH MY BABY SISTER!" The words were shocking not because of their content, it was the simple fact that it was the only time Stephan had heard the Maou raise her voice. The Lady dropped her vassal to the soaked carpet. "Have a good day." she said and turned around leaving as if nothing had happened.

Stephen waited a few moments to see if he was allowed to move, but when he did so, no ice sprang forth to take him. He allowed himself a few more moments to recover before moving to the closet and then over to his lady with several towels. He called in a trembling maid and had her ready the Lady's bath and her masseuse, this seemed like a night she would need one. His Lady did not do much as he handled her, lifting her out of the water and escorting her down to her bath chamber.

He left her in the maid's capable hands and retreated to his small servant's room where he sat down and let his body tremble, his head sweat and nausea take its course. The only coherent thought he would remember for that night was that things were changing and he was not sure how to feel about that.

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1

Serafall's office door swung open in an arctic gale, papers went flying as the Maou stalked into the room, her fists clenched, her breath coming in gasps. Her eyes snapped to the room's sole inhabitant. Beli-chan had decided on blond hair today and a body that she recalled was right out of To Love Ru Darkness, one of the teachers whose name escaped her at the moment. Right now she did not care. "I told everyone they had the day off." she said forcing her words out with lightness.

Beli gave her a look that was at odds with her body, she remembered the teacher to be a shy sort and the Behemoth-turned-devil was anything but.

"And I have been your Queen for long enough to know when my King is in need of support."

"I'm fine."

"No, Serafall, you are most certainly not."

Arctic power burned in her belly. It made the air snap and crackle, boiling like the cauldron of emotions in her gut. The self loathing, the anger, the fear, it all burned like so much hellfire. "Get out," she said, "I need to be alone."

"No." Beli said walking over to her.

"I need time." Serafall snarled, "Time to myself, leave."

Beli did not answer and for a brief moment Serafall hated the knowing eyes that seemed to pierce her soul. The eyes that saw her as the damaged goods that she was, saw the things she was capable of doing. She watched her queen walk forward unafraid. "Get back!" She snarled and the command had the full weight of her Power. Of course it did not work, Beli was far to strong. She was a Behemoth, a creature of power and might that had swam the earth when Creation had merely been water. The meer command of the King did nothing to her, she moved closer not even slowed. "Go AWAY!" Serafall screamed and her power went out of control, razor sharp, jagged edged, ice explodes from her, the desk, the walls, the books, the papers. Everything was cut apart.

Yet Beli walked through it like it was a light breeze, the ice shredding every bit of her clothing exposing the soft looking flesh beneath. Of course looks could be deceiving, as the razor edged ice shattered or simply deflected off her skin. Some dim part of her mind noted that of course it was that way, no matter the form Beli took, her skin was the same as her original body. Her expression never changed, calm, kind, loving. It was that last one that hurt the most, tears of pain froze to ice as her rage faded before that crushing hurt.

She would have fallen to her knees had not Beli caught her, wrapped her arms around her body pulling her into her warmth. "Beli-chan." Serafall whimpered.

"Shh," her queen whispered, "it's ok."

"No," she whimpered, "no, it's not."

The Behemoth let out a sigh and a pressure like that of the ocean's deepest depths flared. All around the room seemed to put itself back together. A small part of Serafall was touched at the attention to detail, everything she had just destroyed was reformed perfectly, down to the smallest scrap of paper. Beli moved her bodily, a motion she had not the heart to resist, her Queen pulled her against her ample chest. "I threatened a whole family." Serafall whispered "I outright told Paimon that I would kill them all if she did not do as I said." Her breathing quickened, an unbidden memory rising.

" _You will become mine." the First Leviathan said "You will serve me with your mind and body for the rest of your days or I will visit such torment on your family that they will beg for oblivion." Her heart seemed to still at those words, staring up at the man who bore the name and title marking him as the Lieutenant of Satan. "Of course your little sister will have to take your place." His tongue moved over his lips. "She is so small and young is she not, a babe in your arms." There was a horrible awful moment of consideration. "I have never tried anything on someone that young before." The words turned her world red, it tore a roar from her throat that shattered the land asunder. Hate, fear, and wrath twisting and combining, feeding her power. The thought, the intention of what those words meant, the vision of that future...she would never allow that to come to pass._

"I killed the person who did that to me." she whispered to her Queen "I tore his heart out with my bare hands and watched the light die in his eyes." Hot fury touched the hurt in her chest only making it burn more.

"As would I have," Beli said, "had anyone threatened you or the rest or you peerage."

"But I did the same thing." Serafall whimpered pulling herself into the soft body that held her "I was the monster holding her family's fate in my hand. The only difference was that unlike me she had not the power to do anything about it." Her breathing became shallow "I'm a monster, I think."

"Some part of you, yes." Beli agreed. "Just as a part of me is capable of monstrous things, there is that part in all of us. Through how we use it differs greatly, I would argue. Paimon would have used her leverage over your sister, you know that. Had she succeeded others would have seen your sibling as a target. So you acted as was your right."

"As a Maou?"

"No," Beli gently moved her hand through her King's hair, "As an older sister."

"I don't..." she started.

"Enough, young one." the Behemoth said. "Enough, I say. You are no monster, I say that and dare you to prove me wrong." Beli turned her King's head, tilting it with her gentle hand so that she was looking her Queen in the eye. "I see in you the same person that I saw when I took your Queen piece, when I chose to serve you for the rest of my days."

"What did you see that day?" Serafall whispered.

"A girl who led a revolution for the sake of love, for the sake of a future better than the past. I saw the scars you carry, your anger, your wrath, your will. I saw the love for your family, for your friends. I saw how far you were willing to go for them, what you would do to shelter the people you love, the people you _love_! It was something I had not seen in anyone since before Genesis, it was the same expression a young angel had." For a moment her Queen looked lost in her own thoughts, a deep sorrow that was there and gone like a crashing wave. "I saw the woman who came to me to be my friend, I saw the girl that you still are, carrying the burdens of a whole people upon your willing shoulders."

She bent down so that her blond hair shrouded her King's face so that for a moment only they could see each other. "And I decided to stand by that woman, to hold that girl when she needed it. As it has been every time when you have needed to break down, to let go, I have been there, when this time comes again I will be there, as I always will. To remind you of your better nature, to make sure you know that you are not the monster, you went against your own morals for the sake of your family. It is only when the ones we love are threatened that we know what lines we will cross and what lines we will keep and there is no shame in that knowledge."

"I don't want that to be me, I don't want to do that."

"Then my King," Beli said with a smile, "Do as you have always done. Compromise, delegate, work with, meet, befriend and take care of your people, as you have always done. Sometimes the carrot is not enough, sometimes the stick is required."

"I would have killed her," Serafall said, "but I don't think I could have brought myself to kill them all."

"I know."

Serafall wept into her chest and Beli pulled her tight against her sturdy body. "Let it all out. No one can hear us here and no one will disturb us. Let it all out, you will feel better in the morning, at which point you will go and see your sister." She kissed her King on the forehead just like her King's mother had done when she was little. "To remind you of what you truly are, before you are a Maou, before you are my King, you are Serafall and you have a lot of people who love you just the way you are, faults, cracks, scars and all."

She held her King there all night, letting it pass into silence and sleep while she watched over her, a guardian against any that might come against her. She did not look like much of a threat, naked in a body of soft curves and luscious shape. Her eyes would have given away that she was not what she appeared, and even the weakest degree of sense would have told anyone that she was a creature of power. Of course no one came in her King's moment of weakness, all around this building her peerage stood guard. They all understood what was happening, they all loved her as much as Beli herself. The scars of two horrific wars, the burden of a people that seemed determine to throw itself into ruin. The weight of keeping every other race in the world from striking out at the weakened Devils. All this and more Serafall bore without complaint, she neither shirked nor protested. They would all forgive her a moment of weakness, a moment to break down and let her truest self be free, even for the short night. It was enough and they would have done more if they could.

Beli's eyes traced over the pictures on the desk, there were only three and they had been the only things not destroyed in Serafall's loss of control. Some part of her will had refused to touch them. One was of her whole family together smiling, another her sister dressed in her school uniform and staring at the camera primmly, properly. The third was a new one, a very recent addition of her and an Orange haired boy eating Ice Cream. That had to mean something, the fact that she had put it on her desk, Beli made a note to study up on that boy. Should anything start to come up well, he would need to be vetted thoroughly...Hmm, perhaps a little meeting was in order. Yes, that would be a start.

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Darkness, he lay upon the ground shrouded by darkness. He could just make out the outlines of buildings that reached ever skyward, vanishing into the dimness. He could not speak, he could not move, he could not even summon the will to try. He felt broken, weak, helpless in this place of broken dreams. Just on the horizon he could feel the vague sensation of pain. Not enough to know what the pain was or why it was there and it was waiting for him to move to go meet it.

His eyes snapped to a small star blazing to live far above him, it's wan light blazing in defiance of the shadows. The small star grew brighter, though no larger. He tracked it's progress and some dim part of him mentioned it was heading right for him. On and on it fell, it's light casting back the shadows in its wake. He could see the blue of the buildings that had once dotted his inner world he could almost hear the sound of the ever present wind that had once been. On and on the star fell, closer and closer, he watched it dispassionately as it looked about to slam into him. When it did he was not expecting the sensation of a single raindrop. The sound it made when it hit his forehead was impossibly loud, echoing and reverbating. The echo of what once had been his soul shattered like glass.

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Sona carefully moved away from the sleeping boy putting the stopper back in the now empty bottle. It said something about the phoenix tears that the vials that carried them were worth something to human mages seeking to study its effects. There were some that would have decried its use on a simple human, the doctor had said he might make a full recovery. Her mouth twitched. Well, that had been unacceptable, especially after she had been the reason he was in such a state. Sona stayed by his side until the burns faded and his breathing returned to normal.

Once that was assured she got to her feet, wove a ward of protection into the room, just in case, and left. Her peerage was waiting for her as she had told them. It was very, very, late, though given the fact that they were devils and energized by the night, well, it was handy quirk of evolution for her race. She paused at the door to give her people one more once over to make sure no one was hiding any form of injury. Naturally a bunch of stunned high school students were no match for her family, the only one that would have given any threat had not engaged them.

Tsubasa looked up at her face drawn in concern. "He is fine." Sona preempted. "The tear did and is doing its work." She moved to sit down at her chair where she could look over all of them. "Tsubaki, Reya, how goes the cover up?"

"Mia was not harmed very much by her battle with Kurosaki, just a good bruise on her chin and neck. Whatever power protected her did its work well. She and the other members of her cult have been wiped of any memory of the supernatural. They think that they have been helping us track down the one behind the pictures and that they made the breakthrough needed." Sona nodded.

Reya continued, "Naturally, since we will be keeping an eye on them, I have bugged their computers and have a few Arcane Eye's watching their soon to be repaired club room. I helped remove any memory of their bunker so that should make it easy to keep track of them."

"Did you account for Mia's minor gift?"

"Yes, Kaichou, the spell is well veiled and her talent did not lie in perception anyway." Sona nodded, Mia's minor gift had allowed her to persuade people better. Not by much but she had charisma so it went a long way to bring people along with her descent into darkness. "However, I was unable to find any other magical items or figure out where it came from, even the dust was gone."

Sona shook her head "I took that dust and got it to my sister. As for the origin, the flame makes that easy to guess."

"What about the flame Kaichou?" Saji asked brow furrowed.

"Did you notice anything strange about it?" she asked looking over all of them not just her newest pawn.

Tsubasa frowned but shook her head, she had been paying more attention to the boy in her arms than her surroundings, Sona mused. Tomoe sat up straight. "The fire made no noise."

"Yes, the Silent Flame of Chaos, a fire that makes no noise and is harder to put out than a fire should be...but beyond that its name is far more impressive than it is powerful. That ability however is one possessed by the family of Ruindurge who are led currently by Lady Paimon. They are one of the Seventy Two houses." There was a sharp intake of breath from each one eyes flickering with uncertainty. None of her peerage wanted to be part of a house conflit so early in their careers as devils. Not that she blamed them, and in point of fact she agreed with them. "Do not worry, such an action broke several agreements my sister had made with the houses as a whole. I sent her the evidence and expect some form of court proceeding on the matter soon. We might be called up to bear witness, but nothing more, this, I promise."

Tsubaki coughed. "My King, while I do not wish to be the one to bring this up, there is an elephant in the room we need to deal with." Sona nodded suppressing a grimace. "We have dealt with the Computer Club, we have dealt with the city, and emergency services, even the parents. However," she glanced in the direction Kurosaki Ichigo's room lay, "What do we do about him?"

Sona leaned back closing her eyes. "This is a good point Tsubaki-San, what do you, my peerage think on the matter?"

Saji shifted uncomfortably. "We have done the mind thing to everyone else, it would make sense to...finish it?" He winced, waiting for some glare of reproach, but found none coming.

Tsubaki nodded. "That would be the most prudent course of action."

Momo and Tomoe both shook their heads, indicating they wanted no part in the matter or they just had no opinion on the matter. "He beat her." Tsubasa said, bringing a fresh round of silence. "He fought an opponent who was at least of the upper tier of power among lower class devils." Sona replayed the scene of destruction in her mind, the burns, the words, the destruction, Kurosaki-San standing over the girl. "Kaichou?"

Sona glanced over at the girl "Yes?"

"How many points is he worth?"

Most of her peerage perked up at that question, save Saji, who flicked the girl her an annoyed glance. Sona pondered the question wondering if it would be wise to answer or stay silent. "Eight" she finally said.

Silence followed. "What?" Tsubasa asked.

"Eight." Sona said. "Eight for me, Eight for Rias, Eight for my sister. It seems not to matter who it is, his worth is eight."

Reya tilted her head. "That's not how the power system of the evil pieces works."

"No," Sona agreed, "It is not, furthermore I do not know why he is worth that much."

"Sacred Gear?" Momo asked.

"He has none."

"Magic?" Tomoe asked.

"He has none." Sona said again.

"Potential?" Tsubasa asked.

"That might be the case, but potential that large in a human should have some form of manifestation, and while he is very smart he is not a genius." She shrugged her shoulders. "Right now it does not matter his point value as I do not have enough points in the same category to spend."

There was a fresh round of silence as they all absorbed that. A tingle went through Sona telling her that Kurosaki-kun was waking up. "I," she said after a moment, "Am going to go talk to him and after that I will decided what we need to do." Her peerage looked at her with varying degrees of trepidation, though Saji had a perplexed and almost...jealous look to him. He was the only one not looking at her. He seemed to realise whatever he was thinking was wrong as he made a face and pinched his arm where he thought no one could see him. A wince of pain cleared the expression off his face and he turned to look at her as well. Sona nodded at them and stood, turning to make her way back to the guest room.

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"Father, what is this?" the boy asked, crouching, hands on his knees watching a small creature claw its way along the ground.

The man standing above him had smile on his face, gentle eyes looking down upon the clawed creature poking its long nose into the cool air. The boy had his father's hair color, black as midnight, though it was long enough to reach the top of his back. His brown eyes seemed to shimmer in the light as he waited for his father's answer. The man had very short back hair, he moved with a hesitance as if in pain, his eyes the same shade of brown as the boy below him. "That is a badger mole." the man said his voice one of tired happiness that seemed at odds with his youthful appearance. "It is a creature from the lower realm." The smile faded somewhat. "Back when the paths were open and the void had no shape."

The boy did not seem to notice the man's strength or words and picked up the badger mole, the creature did not seem stressed, even nuzzling the boy getting a burst of laughter. Ichigo felt odd in this space as he floated above the scene, it was the oddest dream he had ever been a part of, a simple domestic moment of a life he had never lived.

The scene fell away and he stood in a room, empty cold stone that had not seen life in ages, he looked around surprised he could move turning his body until his eyes fell upon a throne of blue stone upon which sat a live shadow. It was an odd, disconcerting thing with no defined shape, though its height was that of a man while seated. The mass shifted as if it could feel his eyes, two brown eyes opened at the top of the mass lancing through him like spears. Ichigo's breath froze as a voice issued from the mass, a strong voice, one that carried and rebounded through the room. "Well, this is unexpected." There was no anger or rage in the voice, only curiosity. "How is it you come to be here, my son?"

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Ichigo gasped coming up off the bed to sit up fully, his breathing coming in heaving pants, the memory of the dream and the words seemed to press on him for a moment then fade as dreams do. His heart beat like mad as he forced himself to calm down. Something about that had struck him hard, a dream that felt so real he could still smell the cold air of that room, still hear the words of the father to his boy.

He blinked as other memories flooded back in, fighting, fire, burns, he reached his hand up to his face and felt, expecting pain, but his fingers only touched normal flesh. His hair felt a bit longer, some of it falling in front of his eyes like it had gained an inch or two. In terms of his body he felt fine as well, no soreness, no pulled muscles, no fractured hand, in fact if he looked as well as he felt you might not know he had been in a life or death struggle...how long had he been asleep?

Cool air flowed across his bare chest and he looked down at the smooth skin. He remembered looking at his soul self and seeing the mass of scars he had earned over his life. It was odd that it never translated to his human body even if it made sense. He could feel that he had underwear on at least so that was good. His head came up as a knock sounded on the door. He glanced around for a moment before grasping a clean white shirt and slipping it on "Yes?" he called.

"May I come in Kurosaki-San?" he heard Sona call out through the door.

"Yes." he responded. As Sona opened the door, he noted the careful way she was moving, as if around a frightened animal. She looked him over and seemed to relax somewhat. "By the way," he said, "Just call me Ichigo, people who save me from severe burns get to call me that." Her expression changed at the words a smile graced her lips before the seriousness returned. He noted a chair that had not been in his room before when she sat down in it hands across her lap.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better than I should." he replied.

"Yes, well that is correct." She looked at a loss for words. "There is an issue we need to discuss." Sona said at last. "Some choices you need to make."

Ichigo leaned back closing his eyes replaying the memory of the heat almost searing him from existence. "And what choices would those be?"

"Well, you have seen some things, things that cannot be explained normally that do not make sense with the world as you know it."

He almost smiled at that but managed to hold it back "I am aware that the world is bigger than most people think."

Sona sighed. "But do you really want to know how big?"

Frowning at her he opened his eyes again. "What do you mean?"

"Currently you are in a position where my peers would say is untenable, you have seen things that my people." He noted how she said that word, people, "Would call for a simple memory rewrite."

His eyebrows rose. "You can do that?"

She nodded "The Computer Club, for example, has no memory of the previous night, they think now that their group was working with us to track down the source of the photos and helped get the perpetrator. They have no memory of the their occult dealings or supernatural powers, they are normal high school students again."

"Well that is...something. Any reason you have not done it to me yet? It would have been easy, I was out for a while, I think."

"Because I like you." she said simply. "The rules are not set in stone, nor were the laws broken, they are just the accepted way of protecting both ourselves and normal people. I would say like you, but you managed to beat that girl in a fight despite her ridiculous advantage over you. In our time together I have been impressed by your will, your drive and, in your own way, kindness." She shook her head. "Altering memory is not exact and there are usually consequences, it would not surprise me if the Computer Club lost some collective IQ and it is possible for a person to be changed by such an event. I-I did not want that to happen to you." she faltered and lowered her gaze from his.

A warmth settled in his chest at the words, a small part of him warned that she could have already altered his memories and he would not know it. But he chose to live in hope and accept her word. "I thank you for that then, though why did you do it to the Computer Club if that was a consequence?"

"Because it was necessary." she made no excuses to her words, stating them simply.

"So, what choice are you here to give me?" he paused for a moment. "Or first I would like to know what is your desired outcome for this?"

She sighed. "At the top end of my outcomes is that you tell me you don't need to know anything, that we can move on from this as we were. I don't have to wipe your memories or burden you with dangerous knowledge."

He stared at the girl pondering the words. He knew himself, if anything that, alone, he was the best at. If he knew things, if he knew threats, he would act on them. He would act on them and get himself killed. He was not what he had once been, not a creature of power. Even his fight with Mia had been more about her lack of skill and some luck then anything he had done. He was a protector, but how could he better safeguard his friends, new and old because he had decided then and there that Sona was his friend. Well he could do his best not to get himself killed and start that way "Ok," he said, "So what do we have tomorrow for the student council."

Her face went slack in disbelief, but only for a moment, then it lit back up as hope and joy made a tangled yet lovely expression. He did not realise she had moved until she was beside him, the chair having fallen down, her hand was on his, her eyes shining "You really mean it?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, looking from her to his hand. She yelped, then looked from the chair to her current spot, a look of chagrin crossing her features. "Yes," he laughed, "Though you can tell the others they don't need to hold back around me, I see nothing and hear nothing." He kept a bitter edge to the last words as it brought back into focus his own powerlessness and found himself surprised to notice the sting had lessened. Perhaps it was Sona's warm hands on his, her pale skin lovey in the moonlight streaming in from the windows.

"Perhaps," she said, "One day, when I am stronger, we will be able to have a very different conversation and set of choices."

Now, he did not know what that meant, but put his other hand over hers. Right now the gesture seemed more about companionship than any romantic connotation. That or he was reading the situation very wrong. "I look forward to that." he said surprised at how much he meant it, surprised at all the conclusions his mind jumped to, her words sparking a hope of something in him. But he forced that down and let go of her hands gently. "Ok, but you still have not answered my question, what kind of duties do we have tomorrow?" Her smile never left her face as she told him.

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 **Well there you go.**

 **I realize that this would have been a good time for Ichigo to get clued in but I always read the light novel and saw the danger in that. I think it makes sense that both Ichigo and Sona do not want any further danger for him, of course if they could see the future than this might go differently but as far as either know this cult incident was an outlier.**

 **Any way the next Arc is called Rebirth so that might give you a clue as to what is coming.**

 **Also the Serafall stuff was my personal take, that just comes from my head after learning her whole story in cannon.**

 **Have fun and a good day.**

 **Fanboy913**


	9. Chapter 8

Hello everyone here is a new chapter, I just want to give a quick shout out to a few people who have helped make this story better.

Phantomzeke who helped beta read some my work

And to aroneden who has been looking over my newest chapters and getting them looked over at amazing speeds.

Thanks to the help I have received this story had become much better in terms of grammar, through I know we still do not catch it all.

Anyway kudos to both of them and enjoy the chater.

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"Ichigo?", a worried voice said over the phone. Ichigo went about drying off the rest of his body with the towel he had taken with him.

"Pops?" he replied.

"Are you ok?"

Ichigo frowned at that, "Yes, why?", he answered.

He could practically hear his dad strangle a sharp reply. "I just got called and told you went to the hospital." Right. He had been unconscious for that with second degree burns and a major concussion. Granted, whatever Sona had done to him had worked Orihime-level wonders on him. Thankfully he knew the story he was supposed to tell. Part of him felt bad for lying about something like this, but he wanted to stay here, wanted to grow a little bit more before he returned and faced the demons he had left behind in his hometown. "Fire at the local park, I pulled someone out of it and they wanted to make sure I had not gotten injured."

"I heard that too," his dad sighed, "Can you not go anywhere without getting into trouble?"

"No," Ichigo said simply, "But it was not the worst trouble I have been in." Another lie he had not been much closer to death than since the first time he charged a hollow with a chair.

"Are you ok?"

"I am fine, just a little irritated skin. They gave me a cream and I am pretty much better."

"It seems your medical bills were paid by, even though I cannot say I have ever heard of them, the Sitri family."

"They are the ones I am housestaying with remember? Sona takes her position and the health of her people very seriously."

"Hmm, Sona is it? That is a fairly informal way of talking Ichigo~" The words made him wince at the change in tone the man's voice heralded. "I'm trying to remember how long it took you to speak to your friends like that."

"Dad…." he half growled.

"So, have you taken her a date?"

"How in the world did you jump to that conclusion?" Ichigo demanded.

"Oh Masaki, our baby son is growing up!" Ichigo glared at the phone and moved his finger towards the end call button. "No no no," his dad said laughing, "Sorry, sorry, don't hang up."

"What do you want dad?" Ichigo said through gritted teeth the sound only drawing more amusement from the man.

"To make sure you are alright, like I said, and to tell you that everyone here is doing fine. Your sisters are out right now and no one is at the clinic, though I think I see someone about to walk in." There was a sound of movement as his father went to the front desk. "When are you planning a visit home?"

HIs heart did an uncomfortable flutter at the thought of going home. "We have a holiday coming up, next month I believe, I will see about getting some transport back."

"Or, we could come up and see you. That would be a lot easier for us anyway."

"That...that would nice" he said his rapidly beating heart slowing at the words "I will look forward to that."

There was the sound of bells ringing "Alright son, got to go."

"Love you dad."

He could hear the smile on the old man's face, "Love you to Ichigo."

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"So we have our rematch at last."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at Kiba Yuuto while hefting the wooden blade to test it's balance. They, by mutual assent, had made decided to have this spar out of the way on the far end of the campus where few people would be walking in the early morning hours. Both had taken off their shirts as neither wanted to see them damaged. Today had not been a day for Gym so neither had that set of clothing on them today.

But that did not really matter all that much, they were both here to let off some steam and practice their art. "So why did you take up the sword?" Ichigo asked as he began to stretch.

Kiba did not answer at first as he worked his arms in circles, his expression had become one of serene focus, "It was something a lot of my siblings wanted to do, but never got the chance." His mouth twitched, through the flicker of a smile was not one of happiness. For a moment his eyes seemed to blaze through it was gone quicker than it had appeared. "I do it to honor them."

Ichigo paused, looking at him. "Liar.", he said without heat.

Kiba froze for a moment, seeming to be surprised, his earnest eyes searching Ichigo's face looking for something. "Not a lie," he said ending his stretches, "Just half true." Ichigo bowed his head, accepting the admission, and ending his own stretches. "Why did you?" Kiba turned his question back at him.

"To protect someone." he answered easily.

Kiba Yuuto did not seem to register the answer on a physical level, he merely raised his weapon. There was a space of two breaths before the wooden blades clashed, the sound loud in the morning air. Ichigo immediately felt the difference. His strength was matched perfectly, his speed also. It seemed Kiba had been preparing for this, wanted it to be even, to be a contest of skill in the purest sense. There was of course the issue that Ichigo had longer reach, but there was only so much you could do.

With a gentle dip of the blade the attack slid off his defence, Kiba danced under his counter strike spinning his blade with a flourish that would have hurt a rib had it connected. As it stood Ichigo blocked and was pleased to find that while it was still a shoc, it was not the attack of one far stronger than him.

They exchanged a series of blows each one seeking out a weak spot only to be met by an ironclad defence, "You're really good, you know." Kiba said as they clashed and stained against one another, "Have you ever competed?"

Ichigo stepped back letting Kiba overbalance but the boy reacted easily shifting his weight and stance to block a powerful downward slash. "Never had time for that." he replied truthfully. There had always been hollows, and wars, and espada, and insane masterminds seeking world domination to deal with. Never could he think of a time where a tournament sounded like any sort of fun or wouldn't have been interrupted by said enemies.

"How long have you been doing this?" Kiba asked as Ichigo blocked a slash by striking the blade before its full motion could be complete and twisted his hands to knock the hilt into Kiba's head. The boy leaned back away from the strike and forced him back with several fast thrusts.

"Two years."

"You're this good in two years?" the boy shook his head, "I need to up my game, I have been at this since I was ten." Ichigo tilted his head as confusion flashed across his face. He had never felt that he had any particular talent for it. Every single opponent had been better than him, Ikkaku, Renji, Kenpachi, Byakuya, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, all of them had been better with the blade. All of those fights had been him desperately trying to catch up to their skill, forced to grow at the point of a sword. It was not a matter of skill, or genius, it had been a matter of survival, nothing more.

Kiba unleashed a flurry of blows, each attack the peak of human speed and strength, attacks both high and low. Thrusts and feints were a literal blur of wood. Ichigo's body reacted without thought, without hesitation. He gave way to the assault blocking, dodging, ignoring the feints, reading the motions of the boy's body like a book. Compared to Ulquiorra, which had felt like reading a machine, Kiba Yuuto was far easier. He did not even have to match the speed or strength of the blows to do so. "That is what I am talking about," the boy said conversationally, "That was amazing. You read me like a book and I was trying not to let you do that."

'Was it really all that?' Ichigo wondered. "Could you show me how you did that?" Kiba asked. "Slowly."

Ichigo nodded and shrugged. They took up positions and Kiba went through the same series of attacks this time as if in slow motion. Ichigo bent his blade, the simple Kendo principle of deflecting, as they moved through the feints he pointed out how he had seen what Kiba had been planning. Pointing out how his shoulders moved, how his core reached, the smallest of movements that he had to look for, it had been the only way to face the fourth Espada.

"Where did you learn that?" Kiba asked.

"Practice and a whole lot of motivation to avoid death." Ichigo snorted...then realized what he said. "Well metaphysical death." he added lamely.

Kiba watched him for a moment shaking his head clearly happy to ignore the comment. Ichigo flicked a blow at Kiba's head to restart the bout, an action the boy was happy to comply with, what transpired next was five minutes of uninterrupted swordplay, something that was utterly exhausting to a normal human and as trained as he was Ichigo was still one of those. He broke off to go heave in great gulps of air sweat drenching his body, hands and arms sore. He had not managed to score one real blow on Kiba Yuuto, and from his appearance this exercise had not even winded him. Through there was a sheen of sweat on his body as well, the boy was waiting for him to recover.

Ichigo forced himself to stand up straight his body almost convulsing. That fight had been non-stop, as fast as he had been willing to go. Several times he was sure that if he had his old power he would have been able to land a critical blow. Kiba Yuuto was a great swordsman but he was emotional. To be fair so was Ichigo, but for him emotion had always pushed him to strive harder, to become better. Strong emotion seemed to make Kiba attack more and after a few strikes he would overextend himself slightly, but for the most part his fighting style worked with the light blades they held. It would not be as effective with a weapon the size of Zangetsu's Shikai but that was a different fighting style all together. "When you get to excited," he panted, "You over extend, someone with, greater speed than I, could take advantage of it."

Kiba frowned at the statement "That would have to be very fast indeed."

"Almost supernatural," Ichigo agreed, "But the point still stands."

"I...will ponder that." he said at last, his expression held a world of questions.

"Not much," Ichigo said to the unspoken words "Just enough to know that the world is big, that is all."

"Ah, I see."

"Plus," he added, "When you get thrown across the room by what amounted to a wild one armed strike...it makes you think."

Kiba blanched, "Sorry about that, I was not expected a challenge that day."

Ichigo waved it off, "No harm, no foul."

Both raised their weapons as his breath studied "Ready." Ichigo said.

As they moved at each other a sound brought them up short, it was a yell of sorts or closer to a squee of pure delight. They both turned their heads to see several girls, frozen to the spot, their mouths open. They wore the garb of tennis players and had their rackets out and ready but seem to have forgotten about that. Two of them were just staring with red faces at the two of them, the other had her phone out and was rapidly typing. Kiba sighed, "Oh dear," before turning back to him, "Sorry about this, it always happens."

Ichigo shrugged "It's not your fault." He turned back. "We still doing this?"

"Of course, if you want to."

"I don't see any reason to stop, we were bound to be seen anyway."

"True." Kiba admitted.

The clash of wood echoed again and Ichigo found himself impressed by the practice blades. The things were not even dented from their fight, they were fine instruments, perhaps as unnatural as the boy he sparred with. The thought brought a grin to his face and he started attacking in earnest determined to land something on his opponent. Kiba seemed to sense this and went full on defensive, using only the most simple of counter attacks to stop Ichigo from unleashing his full assault. They were hardly thirty second in and he could feel fatigue setting in again but he was old friends with the feeling even if they had not really seen each other in a while. This fight was bringing back old instincts, making them surge, words and thoughts, memories and emotions. " _Ichigo feel him."_

He jerked back at a sudden lighting fast thrust that brought a gasp from onlookers, the sound was so loud it had to have come from more than three throats. They clashed again and for the briefest moment he was crossing blades with Muramasa the rogue Zanpakuto. In the end of that fight had been when he and Zangetsu had been in perfect sync, the old man controlling his eyes leaving his other senses free to deal with the master of mirrors. His eyes flared and he swung at Kiba's midsection pushing his blade out of the way allowing his leg to come up in a solid kick to the exposed ribs.

Kiba took it well, very well, with only a slight stutter step, a single weakness of motion, as it caught him off guard and just as before a wild swing done more in instinct than intent came hurtling Ichigo's way. Had Ichigo not been expecting it, or had the blow been from a different angle, or a slower speed, it would have struck him and no doubt broken something important. As it was about to land he spun, eyes closed, when the air just started to whistle he ducked tucking in feeling the blow pass over his head. Ichigo's eyes shot open as he brought his blade around halting an inch before it would have collided with Kiba's exposed head.

A chorus of boos and cheers erupted and he glanced over, eyebrows shooting up as he saw at least thirty students now, and in the front were two familiar faces. Reya looked little bit out of her element, face aflame as looked over the two of them her mouth opened and closed as if she was trying to speak but the noise was lost in the cheering and boos. He also noted that she was not trying really all that hard to be heard, what did surprise him was that she seemed to be looking at both of them, after all the girl had a major crush on Kiba. Granted he did not read all that much into it, both he and the boy were in great shape and that might be most of what he had going for him but it did get some looks. Kiba got more but that kid was handsome in a way that not many of his gender were, at least in Ichigo's experience.

The second face he recognized payed Kiba no mind whatsoever. Koneko was like a quiet rock in that storm of sound the girls were making. Quiet and focused, focused very much so on him, her gold eyes seemed to smolder, the gaze way too focused and adult for a girl with her body. He turned away from that gaze before his cheeks could flush, some of his previous interactions with the girl came to mind bringing with it a thought.

"That was amazing." Kiba said falling back to the ground. "I concede today, that was well done."

Ichigo reached over and hauled the boy back up to his feet. "It might have been cheating with the kick."

Kiba laughed and it sounded genuine "I did not specify any rules did I, so that was your win." he sighed "I have a long way to go."

"Yuuto." Koneko said walking up to them heedless of the jealous looks sent her way. She tossed him a white towel which the boy gratefully accepted. She glanced at Ichigo and pointed at the bench nearby while saying, "Sit."

He tilted his head at the command but given that his legs were trembling, guess she noticed that fact, and did so with great relief. Of course Koneko's true motive was revealed when she approached him with another white towel. He reached out for it but she deftly avoided his hand and began to towel him off herself. The action caught him so off guard that it paralyzed any response that he might have given. As she wiped off his chest, his body restarted and to his immense embarrassment he went red from the roots of his hair to the tips of toes. Koneko smiled at that and stopped him from shouting at her to let him do it with a wipe of the cloth across his face. Laughter and whisperting erupted from the girls watching and he heard Kiba laughing quietly.

She finished with quick efficient motions taking no more time than was necessary, granted if she had not done that he might have found the strength to stop her. As it was she stepped back her cute smile still on her face, tossing him his shirt she spoke very quietly, so that only he could hear, "Please tell Sona fifteen-love." With that she spun on her heels and for a moment he saw of flush of what might have been her own embarrassment which made him feel somewhat better about this whole thing. Koneko walked way and the crowd of girls parted before her in what he guessed was respect leaving him with a lot of things to think about.

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He regretted delivering the message the instant it left his mouth, but Sona had hauled him to her office to demand why he and Kiba had caused a scene that make over fifty two students late for second period. He had told her the whole story including how far out of their way they had went to not be seen. Then he had asked how she knew about it so soon, whereupon she had shown him the youtube video which was already getting a lot of views. It was, of course, complete with the aftermath with Koneko and with no context it looked a lot more intimate then it had felt.

He would not have been surprised to see frost form on her glasses such was the coldness of her gaze. He knew how seriously she took schooling so he had been expecting something like this but when the words "Oh, and Koneko-san told me to tell you 'Fifteen-Love'." had come out of his foolish mouth...well he was not sure but those storm clouds over the school had not been there when he had entered the academy that day not that he could prove anything.

"Really." was all Sona said about the words through her actions made it clear that they had affected her deeply. Not hurt, he could see that to, more galvanised and pissed off than anything "So you and Yutto-San decided to practice a rough contact sport, with no safety gear, no gym clothing, and no shirt?" she asked as if counting off the rules they had broken in her head.

"I should point out that we were not on school time, it was between consenting teenagers and oddly enough there is no rule about wearing shirts...there should be," he said shaking his head, "But all I could find was that pants and skirts are required. There was even an amendment from ten years ago saying that after a hearing from one of the students, underwear was not even necessary." his mouth twitched, "This place makes no sense sometimes."

"You know the school rules that well?" she asked surprise taking some of the frost out of her sails.

"You told us to." He pointed out. "Gave us the book and everything."

"Right, but it was a reference I did not think you would memorize it."

"I could not quote the passage and page," he cautioned, "But I remember the general ideas and some of the weird ones, for example did you know it is in the school charter that the skirts can be no longer than what they are now?"

Sona sighed leaning back in her desk chair. "Yes, that was the first thing I looked into when I became Student Council President. The founding board had some...less than savory members and believe it or not this school has come a long way since then." She shook her head. "Now back to the issue at hand," she took a breath in through her nose, "I would prefer if you and Yuuto-san would wait until school is over before any other such events. Preferably after all the normal students have gone."

"Yes, Kaichou." he replied feeling some relief that he was not really getting in trouble for this.

Sona glanced out her window to look over the courtyard. "Would you go and see what the Trio are about to get beaten for please, I need some time to think."

Ichigo glanced over to see a group of girls advancing on the three boys "Think about what?" he asked.

"How to make the score 15-15, of course." she said turning away.

As Ichigo marched out of the student council room, waving to Tsubasa who was also looking at him with more than a little anger, he was left to wonder what the hell was going on between Sona and Koneko. The scoring sounded a little like tennis but he did not think that was what the girls had meant.

As he took a step onto the stairs leading down, a girl moved to descend at the same time. His eyes flicked to her as they descended and the hair on his neck stood on end. Just as the first time he had seen her there was no real reason he could think of for his reaction. Her black hair was long and silky, her eyes a light violet set onto a lovely innocent face. "Hello." she said.

His everything told him that he was currently in danger and that if he could not run he needed to be very careful. Thankfully this state of being was not a new one for him so he grunted a greeting and gave an affable nod.

The girl's mouth curved of in a smile somewhat at odds with her innocent face. "That fight was a thing of beauty from what I saw, shame I was not there to see it in person."

"Thank you." he replied voice perfectly polite his face a mask of affability.

"If I did not have my sights on another I might have chased you." She said conversationally. "By the way, I am Yuuma Amano and I know who you are, Ichigo Kurosaki." Oh, he did not like her knowing his last name in the slightest.

"Well I suppose," he said, "that I should have been more interesting."

"Yes," she agreed, "that is a failing in many people, you have done quite well for what you are." The words, how she said them, the tone, was now completely at odds with her face and voice. The girl seemed to realise that and sighed, they had neared the bottom of the stairs when she slipped and fell into him, catching her was a reflex and her mouth came close to his ear. "You don't need to remember that." she said.

He blinked as he found himself at the bottom of the stair, Yuuma waving at him as he walked way. He waited until she was out of sight before shuddering, that walk down the stairs had been tense and he was all the more sure off the fact that something was wrong with that girl. There was a tingle of pain in his head, one that spoke of the coming of a migraine. He had not gotten one of those in a while and already dreaded its onset.

Shaking his head he stalked his way to the courtyard. "So what is this I hear about a peephole." One of the girls shouted.

"Oh, for the love Kami." He snarled bringing silence to the entire courtyard. The trio trembled as he stalked towards him, a bad mood rising in time with the pain in his head. "Do you three have any **Idea** what this school has gone through lately?"

Issei glanced away muttering, "That's what I said."

"Good, you can go." He pointed to the school. "Get to class before I put you on bathroom duty till the world ends." That got a gulp and a burst of speed that took Issei away from the irate Kurosaki and to the safety of school.

Reaching down he picked up the other two of the Trio lifting them off the ground by their shirt collars "Now, what is this about a peephole?" he asked conversationally with the two of them dangling about a foot off the ground. "I want to hear about it." His smile might have been the scariest thing they had ever seen.

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The migraine remained for the rest of the day, a constant throb making him more prickly than normal. Momo, bless her heart, had seen, asked him and then told Sona about his condition which resulted in a trip to the school nurse, some powerful tylenol and him being sent home early to get some bed rest.

He did not take his usual trip through the park on his way back, instead he headed right through the center of town. The drugs making the pain much more manageable, but he wanted to be in his bed by the time the drugs wore off. He paused at a crosswalk waiting for his turn with the other pedrestions when something caught his eye. He would have missed it, perhaps should have missed it, if it were not for the sense of danger falling around him, not directly on him as it had been before.

The feeling had him looking around, searching until his gaze fell on what many would call a sweet scene. A boy and a girl meeting on a street corner their faces filled with a mixture of hope and uncertainty they were both desperately trying to hide. It looked like a picture, but the girl, that girl. His head swam with a sudden bout of pain as he looked at her, Issei Hyoudou looked to be on a date with Yuuma, though for the life of him he could not remember where he had heard her name.

With the perfect amount of schoolgirl hesitation Yuuma gently took Issei's arm getting a smile from the boy so bright it was almost its own light source. They walked that way down the street away from the curb leaving him with a very rapid decision to make. He glanced down to his phone tempted to just call Sona and tell her….tell her what? That he had a bad feeling about a person going to her school? Sure his feelings had been correct with Serafall but that had been a close range encounter, he cursed and crossed the street turning to follow the pair. "If my dad could see me now." he muttered. He was now a side character in an anime following the main protagonist on his date...at least he had the knowledge that he was doing it out of a genuine worry for the boy. His head throbbed as he followed, the pain seeming to get worse the closer he got to Yuuma.

Still the pain did not stop him from thinking, he only needed to keep them in sight which let him stay far enough away from sight. Issei seemed to be in the lead guiding her to a market street and showing her what looked like a decent amount of cash. The girl's expression took on the look of any girl given a surprise shopping trip, she pulled him into a clothing store and began to make him try on shirts. Ichigo kept vacillating between two emotions: feeling like some sort of creepy stalker while, on the other hand, still feeling the danger that seemed to pulse in time with his head and wanting to protect Issei from whatever was causing it.

He made no move to leave though, ordering a drink from the cafe he was at and watching as they went from store to store, following when needed to keep them in sight. He watched the girl pull Issei from place to place but noticed she did not have him buy anything save for an inexpensive pink wristband that Issei was more than happy to pay for.

Once they left that store Issei took the lead with a huge smile on his face taking Yuuma by the hand and leading her to a restaurant or at least a dessert cafe, one that from what he could tell specialized in parfaits. Issei himself did not seem hungry, though Yuuma was more than happy to eat the ice cream he bought for her. Even from a distance it was obvious where the boy's eyes were lingering, though the girl did not seem to mind.

Ichigo sighed, what the hell was he doing. Perhaps he was just simply wrong, so he started to get up when the girl asked Issei a question, also letting him know she had seen him looking. He sputtered and hurriedly gulped down a drink, and as he eyes left hers, for the moment he was not looking at her in any way, her smile became sharp and darkly amused, the look changing her expression completely.

Ichigo sat back down, deciding that he had spied on them for this long, might as well go the whole way. If he was wrong he would just have to never speak of this again and everything would be fine. As the next two hours progressed he found himself gaining a slight respect for the boy. I mean he knew what Issei's end goal was, but seeing how hard he worked on this date, it was clear he had planned everything out. Leaving the ice cream place and taking her through the mall, stopping to window shop at various places. The girl did not have him buy anything though, seeming content with the one wristband. He was the image of a boy working hard to impress and Yuuma, the image of a girl content...at least while Issei was looking at her.

It was when his attention moved away, when she thought no one else was looking that the amusement made its way across her face. It had taken him a while to understand why the expression had disturbed him so and he had finally figured it out. It was the amusement of the old or experienced. An expression that one might see on an adult while fighting a toddler. Amusement certainty, and perhaps just a hint of cruelty, hidden but still there.

Perhaps it was fate, or a warning, when Ichigo realized where the two of them were going, the place where just the other day he had nearly died. Again he followed, at a smaller distance, his head pulsing again with pain as he closed the gap. His phone rang suddenly, breaking his concentration, he blinked at the object noting the name, "Inoue." he said to himself. Glancing up at the the two he was following he gave them about five to six minutes before they reached the park, before they were in a spot where few would be able to see them.

He slowed his pace and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Kurosaki-kun?" her voice was like a warm feeling flowing into his ear and the pain in his skull seemed to dull.

"Yes," he said shaking his head, "It's me Inoue, how are you doing?"

"Oh, um, good, really good!" she stumbled over her words a little bit, "But what about you, I heard from your dad..." she trailed off.

"I'm fine." he said. "I was taken to the hospital because they wanted to make sure I had not hurt myself."

"W-what happened?"

"There was a fire in the park here and a girl.." he left off the rest, "You know me."

"Yes," she said voice thick with sudden welling emotion, "I do." she sighed "You...have not called much or written you know."

Ichigo winced at her words, "Sorry."

"No, no, I'm not blaming you, I just...miss you."

"I miss you too," he sighed "I miss all of you."

There was a moment of silence over the phone before Inoue asked hesitantly "How are you doing?"

He glanced up making sure he could still see the two people he was following. "Good, I'm on the student council of all things."

"What?"

"Yep, I help set up events, do paperwork and clean school hallways."

"I...I have trouble imagining that." she sounded like a laugh was just under the surface.

"As it turns out there are a lot less gangs at this school, through that could be because it was all female until recently...or they are just afraid of Sona."

"Who is Sona?"

"The leader of the student council and my boss. As far as I can understand she runs the entire school from the ground up." he shook his head "I still don't know why she has so much power over the school." though her more than human power might have something to do with it. "She is quite the leader though."

Inoue made a noise. "Do you like this girl?"

He blinked at that. "Yes, we are friends now, why?"

"Oh friends," her voice perked up, "What does she look like?"

"I'll send you a picture," he said. Using his phone to send her a picture of the whole student council when he put the phone back to his ear, "She is the one in the middle."

After a few moments Inoue spoke again, "There are a lot of girls in this?"

"School was one hundred percent girls until just recently."

"They are all quite pretty."

"True, though I wish the uniforms here would get a redo."

"Oh?" she asked

"The skirts are too short and the shirts are to tight and they are written into the charter. Why?"

He frowned at the phone as Inoue made a keening sound, quiet but still unmistakable "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she sounded cheerful again, "Uh, right I was calling you because I had a question?"

"What?"

"How long are you planning to stay where you are?"

"I don't know, you can go to college at this place and I like it here, so that might be an option."

"I see," she sounded hesitant again, "What if I told you that I was thinking of switching schools to where you are?"

He frowned at the phone "Is that something you really want to do?"

Her voice became as flat as Orihime could make it, which meant he had somehow managed to offend her, "Yes."

"Well I would like to see you again, I have gotten a lot better in these past few weeks, grown a little inside." It was his turn to hesitate, "I know I was not the best friend to all of a y'all, I was jealous of you three, that you could still fight, still protect. I needed a little space and I feel a lot better."

"You were jealous of me?" the flatness was gone, replaced her gentle caring voice, "Oh Kurosaki-kun."

"What?"

"Uh," she must have jumped on the other end of the phone, "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes?"

She made a sound of distress " Well, like I said I put in the paperwork for a transfer and from what I have been told I should be accepted."

"That's great, though where will you be staying?"

"The money my brother left...me. The bank said that renting an apartment in Kouh would be no problem, perhaps a little more expensive but I'm cheap when it comes to food, you know that." Well that would not do at all, he would need to think about that.

Ahead of him the park came into view as Issei and Yuuma vanished into the treeline. "Ichigo." she said.

"Yes?"

"I just want you to know that it was not your powers that made you who you are." He blinked. "That, just because you lost them, does not mean you are less. When we met I watched you stand up for others, you stopped the bullies for no more reason that it was the right thing to do. It was never your powers that made you one who protects, never the ability to fight monsters." he waited, breath still, heart racing. "It is your soul, it is simply who you are power does not change that, change the you that I lo...like." She let out a nervous laugh. "N-now, I h-have to go, see you later Kurosaki-Kun!" Some part of him vaguely noticed the hurried and embarrassed way she hung up or her hesitated word. But it was what she had told him, the flood of happiness, and resolve, that she, that they would see him like that even if he did not see it himself.

Ichigo Kurosaki could not have seen it but deep in his brown eyes a small blue spark flickered. There was a snapping, wrenching sensation in his head, a single moment of utter agony, then it was gone and memory came flooding back, the words on the stairs, the inhuman presence she had then, the way she had repressed his memoires. Ichigo started to run his phone in his hand he dialed a number. He just hit full sprint when Sona answered. "Ichigo?" In the background he heard some of her peerage gasp at her usage of his name without honorifics. "Issei is in trouble," he yelled, "I think he is with something not human. You need to..." the phone cut off, as in completely shut off. He slowed looking around wildly, looking above him he saw a curtain of purple energy, a malignant force even to his only-human senses.

Panic rose, only to be pushed aside. A cold current of fear flickered through him and it too was pushed aside. He moved forward cursing to himself that he had not told Sona sooner. He had few doubts that turning around and trying to run through the barrier would be effective. Plus he did not know where Issei was. He jogged as quietly along the path as he could. "Well, I admit, I did have some fun today." the voice was one he had not heard before, "Considering how childish and naive you are, things could have been much worse." He saw them now, as she held up her arm looking at the armband. She now wore clothing that looked like a striper outfit had been created by using a particularly artistic lawn mower. "Thank you for the gift, you were very sweet," she sounded sincere in the words, "But," she lifted her hands and a red light glowed between them a purple light twisting and forming crafted by her hands into a spear, "Won't you die for me now?"

"Yuuma wait, please." Issei said raising a hand towards her, the women just smiled and the spear of light thrust forward.

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Issei watched the spear as it moved to strike. What was happening, wha had he done wrong, had her stared at her beasts too much, had he not given her a good enough time? His hand was raised pleading to the girl he had worked so hard for and all he saw was laughter.

The spear point was a heartbeat away from skewering him when there was a blur of movement, Yuuma did not seem to hear it or notice until something crashed into her. She screamed and something cracked, a leg was buried in her side with a small bit of the skin exposed under the pant leg. Issei could see lines of blue just below the skin. A kick, a flying kick, sent Yuuma stumbling away from him, one hand clutching her side, the scream of her pain still echoing.

As Ichigo Kurosaki charged after her, Issei could see his face as he passed by, there was no fear in his eyes and he did not seem weirded out by the sudden appearance of black wings. Ichigo ducked as Yuuma thrust the spear at him one handed, half blind with what he guessed was pain, then sidestepped and punched her in the throat. Now, Issei himself had been punched in just such a way and knew for a fact that it was debilitating in its pain. Monster Yumma hardly seemed to flinch and it appeared Ichigo had, at least expected it to do more than annoy. Yuuma backhanded him, knocking him into a tumble that he controlled at the very end coming to his feet.

"Well," Yuuma cough looking at Ichigo, "This is annoying." Her empty hand moved to her side where a livid bruise was starting to form "What are you doing here handsome?" Her words made Issei's heart, already bleeding with hurt, sting even more. For his part, Ichigo did not seem to care, slowly moving to Issei's side and pulling him up to his feet. Yuuma seemed willing to let this happen. "I have to kill him you know." She was not talking to Issei, now, but about him. "He is far to great a threat to us for me to allow that, though if you had not interfered he would have been given a quick death." To Issei's surprise Ichigo Kurosaki stepped in front of him, putting his body in between Monster Yuuma and himself. Issei just stared, the move had been simple with no hesitation in it, this fellow student, this person, who Issei knew could not have had a worse opinion of him, was...protecting him.

"Really, you will try to stop me from killing a person like that?" Issei felt tears sting his eyes. "Did you hear the rumors he helped spread about you? Have you heard how much he despises you?" Despise? No, envy was more like it, and now he was not sure, he did not know why he was being helped. Yumma who he had worked so hard for clearly thought him worthless, so why should Ichigo feel any different.

"And?" Ichigo said his tone bored.

Yuuma rolled her eyes "One of _those_ people." She said the words like a grave insult and then sighed. "And here I thought you were promising." She shook her head. "Oh well, if it is your wish to die this night then it will be one I am happy to oblige."

"Issei," he blinked as his name was spoken quietly, "I will distract her, you run."

"That's adorable" Yuuma said "You think you can even slow me down?"

Ichigo set himself against the monster, "We will see." was all he said in reply.

The monster shook her head. "Well, this has been annoying, but know that you die for Raynare of the Grigori and find some comfort in that."

Suddenly Raynare's head shot up, frowning angrily. "What have you done?" she asked suddenly, sharply. Ichigo did not answer. Her spear of light crackled as her rage boiled. "You had to call them...oh well, fast death it is. I will try to make it painful."

"Now!" Ichigo said as he moved forward and to Issei's sudden and intense shame he turned and ran as Kurosaki had told him to.


	10. Chapter 9

**Here is the new chapter how you all enjoy it.**

 **Thanks again to Aroneden for getting through twenty pages of proofreading in like a day, mad props to letting me get this chapter out.**

 **Also Phantomzeke is going over my earlier chapters and correcting them so you might see a remastered first through seventh chapter in the future.**

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Buying time, that was his only goal. The creature's shoulder twitched, her core beginning to twist and he jerked to the side as a spear of dark pink light grazed his shirt burning away the fabric it touched. Her eyes flickered with annoyance as more light gathered to her hand, it was shorter, more like a dagger than anything. As she exploded forward, Ichigo gave way, dodging a slash by a hair's breadth. The next attack sliced a line of burning agony across his chest and he retaliated with a punch that the creature batted aside with her speed and strength, simply greater than a base human like him. Her light dagger almost got him then, a stab at his heart, but he threw himself backward feeling only the gentle sting of the dagger's point kiss his skin. He caught the arm of the creature as he fell, and as he had hoped she did not expect it in time to pull back and her strength, wherever it was from, did not give her any more mass. So his greater weight allowed him to haul her down with him, plant his feet into her chest and complete the roll launching her into the base of the stone fountain. There was a solid whack as her back and head slammed into the structure.

It made her blink for a moment at least and to his surprise there was some blood on the stone as she got to her feet. Odd, he had not really expected to do any sort of damage. Her hand slowly went to the back of her head and came away wet with her ichor, staining her fingers red. Eyes of pure murder flash up at him. Another spear of dark pink light formed, this one fully manifested, griped in both her hands. Power danced along her body as she took in a breath, he brought his hands up as she moved. Her speed was simply too much, to far, pain seared his arms, pierced his chest and sides, each a light blow, almost gentle.

It was easy to keep the smile off his face as the fire of light seared itself into his flesh. He had gotten her well and truly mad which meant she must have forgotten her statement of killing him quick. He had heard death by a thousand cuts was a bad way to go, never expected to experience it himself. Still he would fight back. With a scream he closed the gap, Ichigo grabbed onto the spear with his hands. Ignoring the pain, he butted the creature in the head with his own, once, twice, and then he was thrown off with such force that he slammed into a tree hard enough that his spine seemed to ripple with electric pain. Raynare was screaming now, her hand clutching her face, and Ichigo grinned at the sight of her broken nose. The sight of his grin seemed to enrage her to new heights, he was too stunned from hitting the tree to do anything as she charged and rammed the spear through his chest and back into the tree he was leaning on.

The agony seared the shock from his system, the creature pushed the spear in until she was skin to skin with him forcing his eyes to meet hers. She must have thought him done because when his hand came up and he jammed his thumb into her eye she seemed surprised. A blow like that should have blinded anything reasonable but this creature was not one of them. Her eye did not pop or break, but was surely injured and painful. The spear of light vanished, leaving the small problem of the hole in his chest. A part of him noted that for some reason blood was not leaving his body nearly as fast as it should have. Raynare howled, the sound utterly feral. A pride so wounded there had to be restitution. Her fist crashed into him before he could slump forward and collapse on the ground, blow after blow slammed into him like a baseball bat, his chest, his face all battered by the inhuman power of this woman. Something should break, something should be broken, his mind whispered to him, at least the part still fully functioning. He almost fell again but her hand gripped his shoulder and pinned him back against the tree, he saw her hand then and it was trembling and...bleeding?

The creature stared at it in shock a snarl of pain tearing its way loose from her throat, had she actually hurt herself punching him...how? The hole in his chest still was not bleeding right and she seemed to think so too as she stuck a few fingers in it twisting with the motion, he almost screamed then but with little air in his lungs it came out as a wheeze. "Die, die, die!" she hissed pushing her fingers in further.

"Stop it!" resounded through the park as something solid thwacked into her head knocking it forward. Her face was close enough to his face that he managed to lean forward and bit down on her cheek, when she tore away from him she left the piece of her face he had bitten with him and it fell out of his mouth as he began to slump forward. He caught a glimpse of Issei standing there a look of terror on his face but also something else, anger. He had another one of his heavy books in his hand. Raynare turned her now horrific visage on him making the boy step back and throw another book.

Blackness fell and he was falling, falling into it, into the dark place that was his inner world. It was cold now, and grey had replaced the darkness. He could see it now, the world was the right side up it's broken buildings reaching up like sores, perhaps two hundred yards of ground remained and beyond that a void as deep and empty as space. He looked upon a broken soul, one that hardly had enough left in it to function as one, this had been the damage Zangetsu had meant when he told him the price of the Final Getsuga Tenshou.

The power of a shinigami used the soul, it took power from it as one might the solar energy of the sun. That was where the Reiryoku came from, flowing out constantly from his soul. And, based on what his soul looked like now, what he had done was use the soul itself as fuel. Taken part of the sun and devoured it for power, the power he had needed to face Aizen, to stop him, to save those he wished to protect. This, a broken, shattered soul was all that was left at the end. Perhaps not even enough to pass on, he would just fade away. He had broken his soul to use the Final Getsuga Tenshou and this was to be his end, to end with the death of another on his soul...no he would not allow that. The fact that he was there meant he was not dead yet, he would not die this way, staring into his broken soul. He would die fighting, his every breath, his every drop of blood spent for the sake of another. Something burned in his core, something small, something weak, but perhaps if he called to it, it would be enough. When he reached for it, when he touched the ember of what had once been, something responded, something outside of him. It rushed into his body like a flood and his eyes glowed blue.

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Issei screamed in pain as Yumma cut him from shoulder to hip, the blow did not kill him but the pain made him wish that it had, and he fell back, body paralyzed by the raw agony. Tears of both fear and pain dripped down his face but some part of him was satisfied that at the very least he had done something good. Done something right for once in his life, even if it meant nothing, even if he had to die this way. Never got to touch a boob, never suckled that amazing treasure...but he would be content with his death...if only it would hurry up before he lost control of his body.

Yuuma stood over him face dripping with blood, her eyes absolutely insane with pain and hate. Her spear had been raised, both hand gripping its base, she must have tried to say something but the words came out mangled in a banshee scream. He kept his eyes open mostly to see how long it would take for the pain to end, the weapon shimmered and brought her arms to full extension.

White light exploded out of her front, a lance of power perhaps the size of a fist, blood and bone fragment exploded and fell over him. Yuuma just looked down at the hole in her body, stunned. Her head slowly turned along with Issei to where Ichigo Kurosaki stood. White energy had sheathed his right hand, the shape reminiscent of a bow, through its size was comically small like a handgun. His thumb held back the white string and a small length of white light was drawn back as the arrow. "What are you?" Yuuma whispered in shock.

There was no answer as Ichigo loosed the arrow, the beam of light lancing through Yuuma's neck, more blood exploded from her as the body went limp. It, and the head, crashed to the ground, head rolling so that her dead eyes stared at him caught in them her last moments of terror at her impending death. Then the strangest thing happened, she began to simply dissolve, particles of light rising from her body.

Ichigo took a step towards him as if to help him up, before he simply collapsed on his face blood beginning to from a pool under his limp body. Issei felt his heart tear at the slight of such a brave and good soul dying, dying for the sake of someone like him. The tears stung his eyes as the pain became too much and he guessed that he was dying too, or at least it felt like it. That was his last thought before the blackness enveloped him as well. The instant before it claimed him there was a flash, a flash of crimson.

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Sona bit back a scream of horror as the teleportation ended, Rias was kneeling over Issei Hyoudou the power fading as she turned him. An angel, or fallen angel was in the process of disintegrating, most of her now the very light from which her God had forged her. But none of that mattered, on the ground lay Ichigo Kurosaki. His hair was matted with blood, his body bruised horribly, a surge of hot rage flashed through her at the sight of Rias finishing her claim on the other boy.

She did not remember her body moving but she was at Ichigo's side before she realized she was moving. Her own power flaring, water twisting its way into existence, she turned him over as her water blocked the exit of blood from his body. His was pale, so very pale, his breath almost inaudible to her inhuman senses. "No, no, no." she whispered, "No!" what in the seven hells had happened, why had he been involved in this. Her sister's warning about the fallen in town rushed back to her head, but they had looked and found nothing.

Oh no, her sister, how would she take this, no this was not right, not fair. There was still so much that she wanted to learn about him, to know, to see him grow...to...to...perhaps...one...day be something...more. And now it was all gone fading before her eyes and should could do nothing, she did not not have two rooks, she did not have eight pawns, she did not have a queen piece, she had half as much as she need and that was nothing at all...unless" her head shot up as Rias approached her face fraught with her own worry, doubt and self loathing. She had made the decision to save Issei, someone she had been targeting for months, and the thought galled her more than it should have. Issei did not look like he was going to die through perhaps that was her own anger talking she had not seen how bad off he was.

"We can get him to the hospital..." Rias said through her words were empty, she could see as well as Sona could the pointlessness of that.

"Rias," she whispered, "I want to do something very stupid, something that I know should not work." She looked down at Ichigo the eight points of his worth floating over his head in her King sight "Will you help me?"

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There was contentment as he fell this time, his back was to his broken inner world, his eyes looking up in the the storm shrouded black sky. He was going to fade away now, he knew it, he could hear the remnant of his soul cracking under him far below. Ichigo wondered if Issei would live, the blow he had been given, the odds were not good and even less so for a normal boy who had never had to face death and injury before.

Well, it did not matter. All he could do was hope that what he had done had been enough. Knowing that the creature that had done this would not be hurting anyone ever again was, at least, something he could die for.

Not die peacefully, knowing that he would hurt those he cared about with his passing, but about as close to peace as he could hope to get. He kept his eyes open as he lay waiting for the crash landing in his breaking soul. Then there was a sound, a great sound like the tolling of a bell. Ichigo blinked into the sudden rain as sudden movement pierced the stormy sky. Whatever they were they were huge, monolithic in size, alien in scope. Two dark shapes fell from the heavens, faster than him, and the holes in the sky they left in their wake created a path for light to shine down once more. He twisted his head to watch the shapes as they descended into the void of his soul, down and down and...there was a sound so vast that his inner world AND his soul shook. The sound of two structures the size of Mt. Everest finding purchase in what he had assumed was an endless void. The grey surroundings shattered and color returned in a flood, he could see them now, and he recognized them though what two everest sized rook pieces were doing in his inner world was a question he had no answer for.

There was a moment of silence, as his inner world stopped it's shaking. Then from the crown of the right rook came a cascade of water. It spilled out over the edges of the crown, falling, a tide so vast that it stuck the void with the force of the ocean itself. From the left rook's crown black fire erupted like a torch, starting at the top before wreathing its way down the entire length of the rook, both crashed into the soul void and met with great force. A wave of agonizing steam erupted from the clash of the titanic forces colliding and erupted up at Ichigo's still-falling form. All vision vanished.

Without his sight, there was only pain, pain and...something else. Power, conficting power twisting its way through his inner world, both trying to do something but both were canceled out, no that was not the right term, they were fighting each other. Just like he and his hollow had fought each other. Even with the mask they had fought, and only when he had taken in his power, the entirety of his power, both the hollow and Zangetsu, had he reached true strength. Without his eyes he could sense the powers and he did as he had learned and drew them into himself.

While it was not the worst agony he had ever experienced it would rank quite a ways up there, the feeling of being crushed between the weight of the ocean and a vast burning darkness. His body, or his astral representation of his body, became the dividing line separating, and driving back, the two colliding powers. The strain doubled and redoubled as the forces drew back and crashed against him, eager to seek each other.

But there was another feeling as well now, both powers were doing something. The clash was simply the natural order but for the moments he could keep them separate some of that power began to do other work. There was a tingle at the base of his spine, the root chakra if some of the traditions were to be believed. It was a small spark at first, a distraction from the crushing weight. The spark grew into heat and spread up to just below his navel. Faster than before, heat grew, rising to his stomach, building like an unstoppable force. He screamed as the heat passed through his heart, his throat, his eyes, and lastly his head. Something clicked. His eyes glowed bright blue, and this time his scream was a call, a summon, and with the force of an atom bomb his soul responded.

His body glowed blue, his inner world glowed blue, he drew in everything, the power flooding his soul now reinforcing his will, the two contrasting powers were brought into him fully and as it had always been with Ichigo Kurosaki, child born of three worlds, a hybrid from beginning to end, the powers found balance. It was simply how his soul worked, how he worked, how he had been born. Always existing with conflicting powers that found balance in him, in the uniqueness that made him Ichigo Kurosaki. All his soul had been waiting for was a spark, he realized then, it had never been broken, not really, it had just been waiting to reignite.

Arms caught him, slowing his fall to a gentle drop, the stream still shrouded everything. You could not see your hand in front of your face yet Ichigo knew who held him. He knew it like he knew the sun would rise, like his body knew breath.

The steam parted around them as the figure gently landed on top of a single lone flagpole atop the tallest building. Ichigo knew the face as well as he own, the strong sharp way, the pointed nose, the scruff of a beard, the dark cloth black on the outside but white on the inside, as it had always been. Zangetsu and the Hollow, two sides of the same coin. "His name is White." the old man said with gentle reproach, "What have I told you about the importance of names?" Ichigo embraced the part of soul reborn in fire and water, in will and hope and the old man embraced him as a father might a long lost son.

"Welcome back, Ichigo." the rough voice started and somehow those words made it real. He let go of Zangetsu, calling to his power in this place to stand on the air itself and howl his joy to all of creation. For once, and perhaps the first time, Zangetsu smiled. The howl seemed to simply erase the steam, the will of this Inner World's Deity more than enough to do so. Ichigo Kurosaki looked upon a world very much different from the one before. First off all the place was still the right way up, no longer were the buildings rising sideways. As far as the eye could see buildings were either finished or were in the process of rising, the closest ones around him were blue with lots of a black metal patchwork filling in the gaps. Further out, where new buildings were raising, he could see that they were made entirely of the black metal. In fact it looked like the dark fire from before was taking shape and solidifying. Below them instead of empty space an ocean flowed its height enough not only to fill where the void had been but rise halfway up the buildings as well. It was crystal clear blue water, calm as a lake in midsummer. Where the dark fire and the water met there seemed to be no clash anymore, he had taken them both in after all, they were part of him now so it made sense.

The two rook pieces, still Mt. Everest in height, had sunken far enough that their flared bases were covered in the ocean which still left five-sixths of each one rising from it. Both looked different, both having started as solid black rook pieces. Now it looked like they had been changed rather severely, one sported stylized gold lined carvings of a single rose that went from the top of the crown to the bottom of the base, Tron-like lines of blue ran along its surface, flaring blue seemingly at random before fading back to almost invisible. At the crown a bonfire of dark flame burned up into the cloudless sky, the red outline of the power casting odd but not disconcerting shadows. The other rook looked as if a huge serpentine creature had been engraved in diamond twisting up the piece to mirror the other. Blue water flowered from the crown spilling over the entire rook and providing the new ocean he had for a floor with an endless supply of water. More Tron-like lines of blue ran up the rook's sides, flaring blue then vanishing into invisible at random intervals. Both, however, shaired one feature. Above the top of each piece a white blue symbol burned, visible in both the dark fire and the rushing water, a five pointed cross with a circle held inside its points.

"And now we are four," Zangetsu said, "Shinigami, Hollow, Devil,"

"Quincy?" Ichigo finished.

Zangetsu looked him over, as if appraising him, looking for his worth. It was a look Ichigo knew very well. "Yes." he said.

"Why am I a Quincy, how long have you known and why has this not come up before?"

Zangetsu just looked at him. "You were not ready."

Ichigo sighed, it was the response he had expected. "What about now?"

"It is not my place to tell you." the spirit stated simply. "I am your teacher in how to use your power, and in the time to come we will be quite busy, I think."

"Do you, now?" Ichigo paused looking Zangetsu up and down, across his black cloak a there was a gold chain linked to a shoulder guard of purest silver and a radiance of white light, faint but unmistakable, drifted softly from the old man's form. "And what happened to you?"

Zangetsu looked up at the sky and smiled. "Welcome Home, Ichigo." he said simply and the inner world faded. It must have said something about himself that the cryptic messages and non-answers of the part of his soul forged for combat made him happy, frustrated but happy. "Wait, did Zangetsu say Devil?"

1

1

1

Once again he opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling and sensation hit him like a hurricane. He took the briefest moment to bask in it, as senses once familiar, returned in full force. It was like his mind was awake again, his mind casting its spiritual senses, a force that crossed an unimaginable distance. He sensed Orihime, Ishida, his father, his sisters, sensed that they were all right, he could just barely sense the presence of Rukia a world away. Then the input was gone, his sense shrunk, and he could feel new people or rather he could feel his new friends. They were close by, and given the feeling of a bed beneath him he had a few guesses at where he currently was. The first and easiest one to sense was the cold power emanating from a soul that seemed to hold an ice age at bay, a swirling power fit to swallow the world. And yet he did not fear it. Did not, for it was controlled and measured, but most of all because in that soul he felt a kinship and knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they were of a similar purpose. In fact perhaps that soul held more, much more under its protection than he once did and now might again.

The second noticeable soul held the power of a crystal clear, perfectly still lake. Utterly controlled, perfect in clarity, and yet it was deep, perhaps deeper than the person, themselves, knew. In its depths was a boiling power, sleeping deeply but still there, still waiting for a spark.

The third was dark fire, a heat that rose and fell like the breath of a dragon, it had a color all its own on that matched the flame that now burned in his soul. It smoldered under its own tight control, held in a grasp that had a desperate air to it, and a potential of great power much closer to the surface.

There were others, much more human, or rather a mix of human and non-human power mixed as one, creating a new being, a new soul. Each soul was tinged by the dark flame or the smooth water. Two in particular were different from even those, one a burning white light mixed with the dark flame, the other a blue flame intermixed with the dark. Ichigo opened his eyes and let out a breath as his senses retracted from the vague sensation of the other souls.

They were in the main room of Sona's mansion. He could tell that based on feel he found himself naked, though given that Raynare had pretty much destroyed what he had been wearing that made sense. His hand came up and he looked upon it. As if in response to his scrutiny lines of blue that traced his veins seemed to shimmer. He focused on his hand trying to recall the feeling of gathering energy but all that came to him was what he held himself. The air shimmered and vibrated as it always did.

He lowered his hand and went over to redress himself, pulling on his pants and shirt slipping his feet in sandals. "So, I know you threw me out, but are you going to speak to me?" he asked aloud.

" _What do you wish to know?"_

There were a lot of things he wished to know but for starters, "Has anything changed?"

" _Of course your soul has changed on a fundamental level, of course I have changed, of course White has changed, we have both become more."_

"Do I need to go get the badge?" he had left the object of his authority back at his room in Karakura town.

" _Summon me and find out."_

Ichigo smiled, his heart pounding in sudden burning joy and reached inward there was a rush as his soul seemed to explode the twisted around him solidified clothing him in his own power, his hand closed around a solid grip and a blade appeared as if drawn from the air itself. As the transformation ended he turned his eyes to the mirror, everything from the neck down was covered in a skintight body glove of solid black. It felt comfortable and natural like another layer of his own skin, armor of white covered his arms, chest, shoulders and feet. The armor on his left arm was thicker, sheathing the whole of his forearm, the odd material at the end near his wrist humped up a little bit with a hole open at the end like a barrel. In his right hand the blade he held was around two and a half feet long, a little thicker near the base with a handle that was suited for two hands as well as one.

"Wow." was the only word that fully summed up the situation. Slowly lifting his arm, twisting to see if the range of motion was limited, lifting one foot and then the other coming down on the air above the floor and feeling a solid footing. He drifted down to the ground and released the power watching the armor and sword vanish from his body.

He took a breath, forcing his heart to slow, forcing his mind to focus and work once more...He had not been the only one attacked by Raynare, he needed to find out what happened to the boy. Ichigo guessed that he caught the people in the living room by complete surprise as he walked in. Rias was there as was Sona along with both their respective groups, Serafall was there was well she was on her feet and looked to have been pacing. All conversion simply stopped as he looked over them all a frozen moment of silence that he willingly shattered. "Is Issei ok?"

That also seemed to catch them off guard, all of them except Serafall her head tilted as she looked at him eyes tracing him up and down looking for injury. "So," he said into the silence, "is Issei still alive, I was not in a good position to tell."

Koneko rose from her spot on the couch, a complicated look on her face, one that had gone through a range of emotions in a very short time. Her walk was stiff and rigid as she stalked over to him. "Koneko." Rias said gently, though the girl ignored her.

Ichigo waited until she was right in front of him face a mask of conflicting emotions, anger, relief, it reminded him on his own thoughts on the matter. He put a hand on her head and gently ruffled it. "Hey," he said in a low voice, "I seem to be fine now."

She shuddered at the words and half growled, half sobbed a wordless response before latching onto him and hugging him hard enough to bend steel….it felt a little tight for comfort but other than that he was fine. Gently he patted her head looking up. "Issei?" he asked.

"He...he is fine." Rias said carefully "Back at his home, sleeping. I will know when he wakes up, though I should have known when you woke." Sona nodded. The relief that Issei had survived or at least something like had happened to him giving him some room again for other emotions and thoughts allowing him to start paying attention to the girls.

Serafall's eyes flickered down to Koneko, her expression one of relief, amusement and a very comfortable desire. "Well, I for one think it is good that you are among the living."

"I feel the same way Levi-tan." he replied.

The words struck her hard, though not in a bad way. It was almost as if she expected something about him to have changed. Perhaps the vast, vast, power he sensed from her was the cause, power that he did not think could be matched by any in his experience save Kenpachi or Yamamoto, and even then, Kenpachi was a toss up. He smiled at that, understanding the fear that the large amount of power might evoke in others and her desire to not be feared. But her strength was instead used to protect and thus he felt no fear of it. "Some things have changed," he said, "but not that much." The look she gave him almost made him take a step back, a look so molten that flared up and was gone before he could study it.

Serafall laughed. "Good, I was worried."

He gently pulled Koneko from him and she did not resist. His eyes flicked to Sona, who looked torn between rising and not wanting to move. He walked over one of the empty love seats and sat down, Serafall simply appearing beside him, though he could track her movements now at least, and claiming the other side. Koneko did not even pause to glare, she just sat down in his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. That got Sona to grit her teeth but she sighed and let it go for the moment. "So I think I am ready now for a full explanation?" he started politely "Starting with who the hell was Raynare and what is the Gregori?"

Serafall, Sona, and Rias stiffened at the last word. "Was that her name?" Sona said.

"She introduced herself as 'Raynare of the Gregori' right before she tried to kill us."

"We have questions for you as well like how you managed to kill her as Issei claims." Rias added.

Ichigo looked at his hand feeling nothing of the tug that had allowed him to manifest the small bow. " _For a quincy it is not simply will,"_ Zangetsu said, as the world froze in shadow, " _While they do draw power from their own Reiryoku for certain abilities and Reshi from the surrounding area for others, you are unique for you use a union of the two. Your own power is not enough to simply call it out. Our sealed form incorporates it into your power, but to manifest the bow outside of that you must do as all quincy have done since the beginning."_ That was right. The tug had been from within and without. He called his power to his hand and then let his senses drift, not just to the room but the power within the room. There was not as much as one might have expected, perhaps because the power these people had was not the same as his own, not spiritual in nature as he knew it. But the reshi was still there and at his will it came to him, white light glowed in his hand forming a bow, a small bow its shaft of light formed over his fingers the string of reshi in the position to be drawn back by his thumb.

The room reacted mostly in curiosity, Rias, Sona, Serafall, and Koneko moving to lean down and examine the quincy bow. "I don't sense any devil power." Sona said.

"I don't sense anything at all." Rias added reaching out to touch the solid mass of spiritual power.

"He didn't even use his power of Imagination," Serafall sounded more than intrigued, "This is something else."

"Right," Ichigo said, feeling just a little uncomfortable with all the suddenly encroaching females, letting the construct fall apart. "S-so," he said blinking at his slight stutter "Back to my questions please?"

Before anyone could answer the door to the front yard opened and Tsubasa stormed through, her shoulders drooping in relief at the sight of him, though her hackles rose at the confluence of female bodies near him. "What are you all doing?"

Rias got a nasty grin on her face. "He was just showing us his big hard curved bow."

Ichigo just paused to look at her as Koneko and Sona went red in the face, while Serafall choked back a giggle. "You are evil." he said at least.

"Devil, duh." she replied before moving back to her seat turning to look at Tsubasa's gaping mouth. "Nothing I said was untrue, by the way."

"Kaichou," she said sounding hurt, "You could have at least called me over first."

"Th-th-th-that is not what happened." the student council president threw herself back from him, Ichigo held up his hand in a T shape.

"Ohh, Ohh, time out everyone! Ichigo called timeout!" Serafall said.

To his surprise they stopped at her words. "If someone could explain what its going on, I would feel a lot better." Koneko leaned back against him and mouthed 30-love at Sona who let out a sigh, though Tsubasa glared at the girl from her spot. Rias sufficiently amused went back to sit as well.

"I do not know how much you think you know already." Sona started.

"Assume I know nothing," he replied "That sounds safe."

The humor in the room faded as Sona and Rias nodded "The basics then." Sona said. "First and foremost, just about every myth you have ever heard of is real. Gods are real, monsters are real, angels are real, and devils, as well as a thousand more."

"So you are all devils I take it?"

Rias nodded "We are all devils, Ichigo."

Zangetsu's words rang through him and he nodded which Sona took as a reason to continue. "You almost died Ichigo, and I...I could not let that stand and thankfully I had a friend with me." Rias nodded a troubled look taking over her face as Sona spoke "To make a long story very short and I will give you the whole story later if you want it, our Pathion has three factsion, the Devils, the Angels and the Fallen Angels. Raynare, being a fallen angel, was one of God's creations who has given into sin." Ichigo felt it was a good thing he was getting this story as he came to terms with the fact that nothing seemed to match up with what he knew. "These three factions had a major war in which there were many casualties."

"Which was followed by a civil war among the devils," Serafall added with a smile that did not seem real, "Because, yes, fighting over scraps like children while our race dies is exactly what one would expect from sensible people." That sounded like a lot of pent up aggression.

Sona winced, but moved on, "So our species population was at a staggeringly low number and normal birth rates were not going to allow us to sustain ourselves as a viable population. Which led to the creation of these." she held up a hand and a black King appeared floating above her palm.

"I'm going to assume those are not just chess pieces?" he said.

"You would be correct" her mouth quirked in amusement "This is a magic item, perhaps the closest so far to matching the Sacred Gear's created by God." Ichigo filed that term away for a future question. "These items allow for those granted them to gift unto those they wish to reincarnate as a devil."

"So that was what those two chess pieces were." He said, nodding.

That got a pause. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I watched them remake most of my soul and now it makes sense why."

"...remake your soul?"

He sighed "I had some powers before this, they were powers that utilize the energy that a soul gives off." He was not sure how much detail to go into and decided to go light on it for now. "There was an enemy I had to stop, someone who would have killed those I cared about. I could not let that happen so I utilized my soul itself transforming it into power." They were all staring at him. "It worked, for the most part, but given how much I damaged my soul it was inevitable my powers would fade." He smiled. "Then you two?" he asked. "Gave those pieces to me."

Rias and Sona glanced at each other. "Yes, that is….complicated."

Serafall snorted. "Complicated? I just had Ajuka-kun tell me, without any rancor, that what you two did was one hundred percent impossible." she smiled "I think he thought it was one of my crazy ideas so he did not press as to why, so your secret's safe with me. Though if he ever so much as sees any of you three from a distance he will know."

"Thank you, Nee-san." Sona said "So, going into the finer details there is a system behind who, what and how someone can be transformed. Each candidate is worth a certain number of points to differing people. You, for example, were worth eight points. To give you an idea of what that means, a knight piece is worth three, a pawn piece is worth one, a rook piece is worth five and a queen piece is worth nine."

"Two rooks means that you overspent on me." he said.

"Well, we did not have any options at the time. I was desperate and Nee-san was not in town." her fingers played over each other, "So I acted and it worked, you're still alive."

"Thank for that by the way, both of you."

"By the way." Serafall said leaning against his shoulder. "Can either of you command him?"

"I assume that has something to do with the king piece?" he said.

"It was meant to be a control mechanism in case someone who should not have been given this gift could be controlled." Serafall grimaced and Ichigo got the idea she was not so sure about that. "We, or at least those with any sense, make it a point never to use it, as the whole point of people having brains is for them to use them. I would not see any potential wasted much less by my own words."

"Still," Ichigo said "I know I do not like that idea, so could you try it and we can see what will happen?"

Sona sighed and looked at him. "Stand up for a moment." Nothing happened and he shook his head.

Rias tilted her head. "Stand up for a moment." Again nothing happened, no flicker of compulsion, nothing and he shook his head again.

"Hmm, perhaps that fact that there are two kings?" Sona said.

"Or," Serafall said "He might just be that strong willed. There have been cases where creatures of great power and mental fortitude have been able to ignore the command. My Beli-chan, for example."

"You Queen is the Behemoth, the first." Sona said carefully. "That makes sense."

"Why do you call her Beli-chan and not Behe-chan?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"I like the way it sounded better and she was fine with it." She answered.

"Ok, so commands don't work…. I feel a lot better about that, no offence."

"None taken." Rias said "It is often the largest reason for refusal among mortals."

"Ok, so, to sum it up I am a devil."

"Yes."

Ichigo nodded "And I work for both of you now?"

"It's closer to you are part of our framily now and we are the head of that family."

"You two saved my life, and gave me back my powers, I am grateful to that and I will repay that debt." He pondered his next words "I do not mind seeing where this goes and where this path leads but I will let both of you know this." He looked each of them in the eye "If you should ever do anything that goes against what I am, what I believe in, what I would die to protect. As you have just seen, I will stop you." He let that warning hang in the air for a moment.

"Wow," Serafall said leaning closer, "is anyone else feeling hot in here?" Koneko raised her hand.

"I understand that. You seemed to have a well developed sense of morals and I will try and respect that." Sona leveled her own gaze at him. "But, I would ask that you speak to me should there be an issue and I will explain myself and wish you to do the same."

"I can work with that." Ichigo nodded. "Rias?"

"Fine by me." she shrugged "I honestly do not have any overarching plans yet, save to grow my own powerbase, become an asset to my brother and most importantly keep my freedom."

"Ok," Ichigo nodded, "Now are there any other fallen like Raynare around town because I don't want any more Issei's happening.

"No worries," Serafall smiled "When I heard what had happened to you I was mad, very mad." Sona winced at the words. "So while you were asleep, I and my peerage went over this whole town with a fine-toothed comb. We think there were three other fallen, but they had fled due to the death of their leader, good job on that by the way. I found a whole church full of their cultists, bunch of fallen priests and excommunicated exorcists, and they tried to attack me, so I went all Miracle Levi-tan Ice Love on their asses."

Tsubaki raised an eyebrow and walked over to the window pulling back a curtain revealing, in the distance, a several hundred feet tall pointed glacier rising above the forest. "So, given that you seem to like secrecy," he looked at Sona "how are you going to deal with that?"

"I'm not. There are whole companies in the underworld dedicated to helping with this sort of a thing and my sister can afford the best." Sona replied, putting her hand over her face, pink touching her cheeks.

"Aww, I'm not that bad." Serafall giggled.

"Ok, ok," Ichigo said "So if that has been taken care of where is Issei?"

"I put him back in his house." Rias said.

"You just left him there?" she nodded. "So he is going to wake up with no idea of what just happened, full memories of his almost death and no one to explain it to him?"

Rias blinked...once. "I should be going." she said with a nod. "Good to see you have recovered so well and," she glanced at Sona, "We will need to work out a schedule on his time. After all it's now fifty-fifty on him."

Sona nodded. "We will talk later."

"Koneko, Akeno." Rias said.

Akeno had been silent for this conversion but as she stood she cast a look over him that almost made him shudder. "As the Maou said well done in killing that Fallen."

He decided not to answer as Koneko reluctantly got off his lap, turning to punch him lightly in his chest. "Do not get yourself killed again." she said. "I would be very sad if you did."

Ichigo put his hand on her head. "I do not plan on it."

That got a sigh from the small girl. "Is that what you say every time?"

"Pretty much. And it is always true,"

That did not seem to help her mood and Ichigo knew it did not, but he would be something different than what he was at his core if it weren't. "Then I guess I will just have to watch your back." she nodded to herself before walking over to Rias.

Serafall grinned and took Koneko's place on his lap. All his hair stood on end at the sensation of her power washing over him. It was like a live nuclear bomb was on his lap, though this one had a very nice cushion. Koneko glared her heart out at the woman who just smiled glibly in return. "Nee-san." Sona whined in mortification.

"Hey, this is me de-stressing. Is that not what you wanted me to do?" He caught an undercurrent to her words, something small but powerful, a need that he could not place. Sona's expression changed and he knew she had caught it too. "I...did," she allowed, "But it's not fair." she whispered.

"Indeed." Tsubasa agreed moving to take the seat beside him and taking his arm, wrapping it up with hers.

"Yura-san." Sona growled.

"If you decided to spank me over this, at least do it where he can watch." the girl replied with a cheshire cat smile.

The image that brought to mind was sudden and not at all expected. Serafall jumped a little. "Oh, he liked that." she informed the room. He almost threw her off his lap as his face went crimson, only stopped by her leaning back against him and that undercurrent of need shown in her face.

Koneko had bared her teeth at the exchange, much to Rias's amusement. "Well, we need to get going now, see you tomorrow Ichigo." With that they all vanished as circles of red appeared under them and causing them to vanish.

"Ah, teleportation." he said fighting the heat that built on his lower half. "Neat."

Sona held up a hand and took several calming breaths, though her gaze at Tsubasa told them all that she would be having words with her. As it was Tsubasa was distracting as hell around his arm, not quite as much as Serafall's posterior on his lap through. "So, are all the members of the student council your…Peerage, is that the right word?"

"Yes and yes." she replied "I will reintroduce you to them all tomorrow but for now I will tell you that, Tsubasa here is a rook," She paused for a moment to glare at the girl, "Tsubaki is my Queen, Momo is my bishop, as is Reya. Tomoe stands as my knight, and both Ruruko and Saji are my pawns."

"Do those different pieces do anything or are they just ways of turning bigger and bigger creatures into devils?"

"Yes to both of those. A pawn does not gain any real special traits save for promotion, as in chess if they reach enemy territory they can promote to another piece. Bishops, for example, gain increased magical potential," Ichigo make a note to ask about this "Magic" at another time, "The Knight piece grants the user enhanced speed and mobility, whereas the Rook is the opposite granting enhanced strength and durability." She nodded to his hands. "I honestly expected some damage to the environment by now, it took Yura about a week before we could let her out of my house."

"Kaichou!" said girl snapped her face blushing.

"I have dealt with enhanced strength before. I got good at compensating with control." plus, he thought, I am fast already, being tougher could not hurt at all. "Do multiple pieces stack?"

"Not in the original benefit, no, but should the pieces mutate, which is possible, they could grant further separate effects."

"How do you know if they mutate?"

"They look different from the original" Sona said with a wave of her hand, Ichigo almost winced at the memory of what the hell those rook pieces looked like now.

"Ok, moving on, can you take them out of your body?"

"Not normally, you can manifest them," Sona held out her hand on her king piece appeared, "But it is merely an astral projection of the real thing, the same in every way and can be studied and tested but the real body is the one inside you."

Ichigo let out a breath leaning back, Serafall giggled as the breath tickled the back of her neck "Well things just a lot more complicated." he said aloud.

"I know." Sona replied.

"Hey, at least you got near immortality out of the mix." she paused "Or, well, an enhanced life span in which you can be killed, but otherwise you stick around, forever youthful, if not young and strong."

Laughter rumbled in his chest. "That is good, I guess." he had actually been thinking of what the hell, no pun intended, he was going to tell his family about this. 'Hey dad, I just added devil to the list of things that I am. Oh, ya, and why am I part Quincy?' His eyes closed which was a mistake as the feeling of Serafall's body against his seemed to magnify.

Ok, that was another matter. What was with all this sudden female attention he was getting. He was not complaining at all, but he was curious. It was not like he had done anything different then be himself. "N-E-E! S-A-N!" Sona said punctuating each word. Serafall grinned at her and then slid off his lap to the floor, and Ichigo leaned forward, crossing his hands over his lap, so as not to give an obvious show as to what effect the woman had on him. Tsubasa and Sona still glared at him like it was his fault, which he was honestly not sure if it was. "So about these chess pieces..."

"They are actually called Evil Pieces and before you ask Ajuka-kun was having an off day and is too proud to admit his first name was stupid." Serafall shrugged from her spot on the ground between his legs. "I said that Miracle Devil Transformation Pieces would have been better but he said no."

"Hmm," Ichigo said, "Ok, good to know, but, um, what happens to the person if the Evil piece mutates?"

"Odd things," Serafall answered "Most of the time they grant odd special powers, or ways to manipulate the rating game, sometimes just simple power boosts." Sona nodded at her words.

"Ok so what do you think these do?" he held out his hand and manifested evil pieces. For the water's piece, water began to run off his hand and onto Serafall, who did not seem to mind. She just craned her head to look at him and gave him a good view of how her wet shirt clung to her well formed chest. The other rook piece burned with the black flame. The flame one with its glowing gold gilding the other the carved lines of diamonds.

The room just stared at him. "Both of them mutated?" Tsubasa asked. "I thought that was like one in a million."

Serafall laughed and drank some of the water. "Not bad." she proclaimed as Ichigo dismissed the pieces. trying and failing to keep his eyes from straying to her soaked shirt. Tsubasa tightened her grip on his arm but he hardly felt it. Sona took the more sensible approach waving her hand and a blanket appearing over her sister who snuggled in it gratefully.

"What was that?" Ichigo asked.

"Magic." she replied pleased at his interest. "It is a trait all devils bear and most can use. Though we do it differently from the human magicians." Yet another question to add to the list, wizards were real? "For one of our species we require three traits to use magic. One is imagination," she held out her hand, "I picture water in my head, I understand it, I have studied it, I know how it works, how it is supposed to move and operate. Now while all that does help me in using it, all I really need to do is picture how I want it to look in my head. Second, I channel my power through it and have to sense when there is enough, when that is complete..." an orb of water floated above her hand. "This of course does not stop me from learning human magic, or other such systems but for our kind this is how we do magic."

Ichigo closed his eyes for a moment feeling and only finding his reiatsu their and waiting for use, deep down within that he could feel something else, something small but too far out of reach for now. "I want to learn that." he said simply.

Sona again looked pleased. "I will be happy to teach you, when time comes."

"And I will show you how to use your rook skills." Tsubasa said seemining annoyed that she had not gotten much of a word in these past few minutes.

"Thank you." he told her with a smile, she looked satisfied with that and her grip on his arm loosened.

"Ok," he said, "This has been quite the Q&A today."

"It is a start." Sona agreed.

"But, I think I want to take what you have told me in before I get anymore. So in the meantime who wants some dinner?" As it turned out all of them, "Good, but first I need an ice cold shower, thank you for that by the way Levi-tan."

"Always happy to help." the girl said with another one of those cheshire cat grins.

"And I will get right on that." Ichigo stood up and turned away from the girls mostly to hide is annoying biological reaction that was refusing to go away. Honestly the shower might give him some time to figure out what the hell he was going to do next...besides school and being a devil, whatever that meant.

But for the moment, his powers were back, he was not dead, he might have the attention of several beautiful girls, not that he understood why or what he was going to do about it. His chest burned with good feelings and his doubts and depression, everything that had forced him to leave Karakura to seek relief, burned away by his returned powers. He could be himself fully again, he could stand in the same world as his friends old and new. Once more he could truly stand against the monsters. No more would he be helpless before creatures like Raynare. He felt reborn in more ways than one and Ichigo Kurosaki would admit, he was happy, happier than he could remember being in a long time. Life was good and he could work from that point into what in the world he was going to do tomorrow, when this all settled in.

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 **Well a lot happened in a short time, Raynare is dead before her arc could really begin, what is going to happen to Asia? What about the other fallen, is Issei going to be the same oppai loving boy with big brother Ichigo as an example of what he could be...for that matter is Ichigo going to be able to set a good example with all the female attention he is getting or will he become the harem master? Well you will just have to tune in next time to find out won't you.**

 **Have a good day, Fanboy913**


	11. Chapter 10

**New Chapter, Party time, Hope** **everyone** **is doing** **well just want to give a quick shout out to Aroneden for his work proof reading the chapter. While neither of us catch every mistake it is infinality** **better than what I could do on my own and I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

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"You did what?" Saji said from his seat at the table pointing at Ichigo.

"I helped reincarnate him," Sona replied pushing up her glasses, "As I said."

The boy looked from his King to the new Rook, his expression odd. "But, you said you could not reincarnate him."

"That is complicated," Sona said with a sigh, "But he is part of our family, now." she said gently, to which the boy looked away chagrined.

"That," Tomoe said after a moment of thought, "Is AMAZING!" She was out of her seat and next him him in an instant. Ichigo blinked as she grabbed his hands. "I saw you fight Kiba-san and I have been wanting to try my hand so bad," she let go and did a little spin, "But I'm not good at holding myself back like Kiba-san," she giggled, "Now thats not a problem!"

"Hey, I got first dibs!" Tsubasa called as she hauled a box of papers past them.

"Well. It would make more sense if we all got to play." Tomoe said her expression serious while looking at the Rook. "He is part of our group now, and I have no interest beyond that."

Tsubasa looked away muttering to herself, "That is an excellent point." The girl let out a sigh. "Kaichou is there any way we could take a few hours out of the day to mess around?"

Sona positively glowed as she watched the interaction and Ichigo got the idea that she enjoyed above all watching her people work through problems without her help. "That sounds like an excellent idea, and given that Rias wants to take him hunting with her tonight," that was the first Ichigo heard of this, "We can start right now."

Saji sighed, "Should one of us test him out then? You know so we can see what kind of training he will need, you know like how you fed me to Tsubasa when I started."

"It was not that bad," Tsubasa rolled her eyes, "I just gave you a few bruises."

"You kicked me in the dick."

"You groped my ass." she shot back.

"That was an accident." he replied as he flinched away from her.

"Children," Sona said with a sigh and they stopped, "Saji is correct, though. I was planning on one of you testing his strength. Since you brought it up would you like to be the one, Saji-san?"

A grin split his face pushing aside his melancholy. "Yes, Kaichou!" Ichigo got the sense the boy wanted to...not injure him, but beat him. Well, he would not be the first person, and hell he was friends with one of those people. But, that begged the question as to why the boy felt that way. Ichigo had felt they got along fine.

Sona moved to the center of the room and the rest went to her, standing around her, and Ichigo took a spot near her after a moment. Blue light flared under him in a circle and he blinked as one moment they were in the student council room, the next they stood in her backyard. She raised a hand into the air and a familiar wave of energy washed over him, almost causing him to rejoice that he could feel it now, as dark energy fell over a wide area in a dome.

"So-tan!" a voice said. They all turned to see Serafall lying on the ground, her naked back exposed to where the sun had been, her butt only covered by a rather small bikini bottom not at all suited for covering her lovely posterior. Ichigo turned away after the briefest moment, glancing at Saji who had his eyes covered by Momo and Ruruko. The boy was currently asking what was going on.

"Ichigo-Kun!" Serafall called.

"Onee-sama, you don't have a top on!" Sona snapped as he heard footsteps.

"Oh...right," there was a flare of power, "Better?"

"Yes, but what are you doing here?"

Ichigo felt it safe to turn as Serafall walked up dressed in her magical girl outfit. "I told you I took a few days off, I mean, given that the fallen have done something that could break the treaty we have, I feel that I am doing my duty by sticking around here for a few days and making sure nothing else happens." She let out a groan. "And what a pleasant duty it is, I even brought you a present, Stephan!" she called. In response a man with pleasant grey hair and an older countenance exited the house with a box and walked through the barrier like it was not there. "This is Beli-chan's undersecretary. I just hired him a few days ago."

"That you for that Mistress." he said in a pleasant english accident.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Boo, once again." She turned to Ichigo. "Call me by my name, please! No one else will."

"Good to see you, Levi-tan." he said as Stephan flinched.

Serafall let out a pleased sigh, "Thank you, Ichigo-kun," she took the box from Stephen, "But I don't think you will want to open it now. So when you are by yourself you should look at it." She handed the box to her sister, who took it was a dubious expression. "What are you doing here?" Serafall then asked.

"We were going to give my newest peerage member some first hand experience with the various pieces and what they can do, as well as have Saji-san test out his combat experience."

"That poor boy." Serafall said quietly.

"What was that Onee?" Sona asked having not quite heard that.

"I said that will be a good experience for him!" Ichigo got the feeling she was talking about Saji, though no one else seemed to think so.

"Indeed," Sona nodded, "Give them some room!" she ordered her peerage.

Tsubasa grinned at him. "Don't hold back Ichigo-kun, cause he won't."

Saji, for his part looked excited, and a little ashamed of how excited he was, so an odd mix. "Just to let you know you should not underestimate anyone." He said rolling his shoulders. "Just because your a Rook and I'm a Pawn does not mean I can't put you on your….butt." he said after a moment's consideration.

Ichigo nodded, taking a few moments to stretch, grateful it had been gym day and he was in clothing that worked with exercise such as fighting. "When I say for you to stop," Sona said, "You will both stop. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Kaichou." they said in unison.

Saji took a breath, opened his eyes and did not even hesitate to charge him. Ichigo knew that, as a devil, the boy's speed would be greater than human, however he was treated to the refreshing change of pace in which his own reflexes could keep up. The opening punch sent his way was a good one, a swift jab that spoke of some training. His hand came up, the back of it slamming into the wrist and knocking the blow aside.

The boy turned into the blow spinning his leg coming up in a scything kick, but Ichigo took a step forward and lightly kicked Saji's standing leg out from under him while the boy's own blow bounced off his shoulder with a small, but manageable, spike of pain. Guess the boy was strong at least in the physical sense, and Ichigo waited as the boy got to his feet quickly. "Guess you have some good training in fists too," he sighed, "Nothing is ever easy."

What came next was a combination of controlled punching in a manner similar to a boxer. He did not go all out with it, but he kept his momentum. Attempting to push him back, Ichigo answered with circling movements and blocks. Saji did not seem at all put out by it, in fact he grinned at him and that made Ichigo focus.

Thus, when there was a stirring of power around Saji's right hand, he was ready. His entire perception focused on that change. And what a change it was, the oddest looking lizard like creature he had ever seen, black with large purple eyes and yellow lines tracing along its back. Long legs seemed wrapped around the hand it sat upon and there was an energy to it. A power not Saji's, not really, it was a deep power, one Ichigo had never felt before. Despite the mild amount of it he sensed present, there was more, much more, deeper within that creature.

Ichigo took a long step back creating distance and avoided the creature as Saji attempted to hit him with it. A much wider smile split the boy's face as the lizard opened its mouth and a blue line shot towards him. Ichigo reacted in a manner that would have made his teacher in the art of Shunpo proud. It surprised him a little, how fast the reflex came back and surprised him even more that it worked in his most base form of being. The line of blue passed through the space where he had been a moment earlier, which drew gasps from the onlookers and a whoop of delight from Serafall.

Saji read the situation with commendable speed and whirled to find his opponent had somehow moved behind him and thirty feet away. "I thought you said he was a rook!" he shouted.

"He is." Sona replied, just as shocked.

Ichigo shook his head, "Remember, I did have powers of my one once upon a time."

"Super speed?"

Ichigo shrugged, "Sort of." his body blurred as he moved again, avoiding another blue line shot at him "If you don't mind my asking, what the hell is that." Saji whirled looking for where his opponent had vanished to, but was finding nothing. "Up here." His head tilted up to see Ichigo standing on seemingly empty air about forty feet above him, the top of his hair touching the roof of the barrier. "What I did was called Shunpo which is a limited high speed movement technique."

"Uhh, this?" Saji just stared at this odd creature who was his opponent and who was making him look second rate at best. "It's my Sacred Gear."

Ichigo made a clicking sound with his tongue. "Add that to the list then."

Wings erupted from Saji's back and he took off in a high speed rush, the dark fibers flapping to give him lift. Ichigo danced around the attack using his Spirit Walk to gain footholds where he needed them, pushing off the air itself to propel him out of the boy's way. It meant that he could turn on a dime, change directions in an instant, which compared to wing powered flight gave a lot more maneuverability options. The boy was still trying to catch him in that blue line, which only made it more of a priority for Ichigo not to get hit by it. He kind of felt bad for playing with Saji this long, but he needed to know what kind of powers devils had. For example did he have his own wings?

As if in answer they erupted from his back as if excited to be called forth, he frowned at them confused and not at all ready to control two new body parts. The vanished just as quickly with an effort of will, but by that time Saji was on him. The blue line shot across the distance between him and circled him binding him tightly. The line shimmered and light danced along it pulled from him over to Saji...but what was odd was Ichigo did not feel any drain on his power. He frowned and had to focus, none of his spiritual power was being taken, but there was something. A vague feeling deep in his soul, at the bottom of the ocean that now reigned there, a small power in comparison to his vast soul but it was being taken.

Ichigo lunged forward using shunpo to speed his headlong charge, head first, into Saji's solar plexus. The boy had been in the process of letting out a whoop of triumph when the air was driven from his lungs and he was thrown from the air dragging Ichigo, who was still neatly tied by the blue line, and they both crashed into the earth.

The dust cleared revealing Saji on the ground with Ichigo's foot planted firmly on his neck through no real pressure was being applied. The boy looked like he had been hit by a car,but it had only stunned him for a moment and Ichigo had only just managed to get his foot on Saji's throat before the boy would have surged to his feet. Guess he was tough and strong, if a little light on combat experience.

"Enough." Sona called and Ichigo removed his foot and the line of blue vanished, leaving a dull empty feeling. It was small though and it had been taken from a power he had not realized was there until now. He did not have time to reach out for it however was Sona and others approached Momo and Ruruko both helping Saji to his feet and then staying by his side under his shoulders, though he clearly did not need it. Ichigo held back a smile, lots of guys would feel lucky to have two girl's clearly smitten with them. His eyes drifted to Sona and Serafall, then fell to thoughts of Koneko's actions and Tsubasa's teasing...how did he feel about that? He was still kicking himself for not noticing earlier, but the actions some of them used had been pretty blunt lately and while it might require sledgehammer blunt to get through to him, things did slide through eventually.

Not that it gave him any insight whatsoever as to what he was going to do about it but, you had to take what you could get. "That was impressive." Tsubaki said her gaze one of analytics "Granted you did beat an empowered magician and kill a fallen angel so perhaps that is not as surprising as it could be."

Saji let out a gasp of pain as he sucked in air and did not manage to get out any words but he tried, Ichigo felt he understood the meaning, 'Lucky Shot' if he was not mistaken, "So what is a sacred gear?" he asked the group.

"Detailed history or quick?" Sona asked.

"Quick." he replied

"Sacred gears are objects of power made by the God of the Bible. They were gifted to humans and human hybirds suchs as half-vampires and the like. There are many kinds, types and varieties of gear that come with, normally, one or two powers. Also, when we reincarnate people with the Evil Pieces they keep their sacred gear."

"Ok, I assume that Saji's over there absorbs power?"

She nodded. "And vitality." Hmm, he had not felt that but he was not exactly sure how his vitaliy worked now, when he was in soul form it was proportional to his spiritual power.

"Me next, me next!" Tomoe bounced. "I wanna sword fight!"

"Did you even bring and extra blade?" Tsubaki asked.

Tomoe froze "Oh...right," she looked around desperately, "I forgot."

Ichigo made a snap decision, "Don't worry, I have my own."

They all turned to look at him. "Is it in your room?" Sona frowned, apparently not liking the idea that she missed him bring a weapon into her house. "Not quite." he shrugged, when it came down to it he did not like keeping secrets, though he would keep some things to himself. If he was going to be fighting creatures like the fallen again they would need to know what he could do.

"Well?" Tomoe asked excitedly, "Where is it?"

He let out a breath and air rushed away from him like it was under a high pressure fan, stirring up hair and skirts alike, Ichigo slammed his eyes shut as the sudden array of different colored underwear was revealed. Saji made a sound of appreciation, which was followed by a firm and "accidental" elbow in the side from one of the girls holding him up. Ichigo had his eyes closed so he could not see which one it was, just here the aftermath of his renewed gasping.

"Oh my," Serafall said, "That looks cool."

He opened his eyes to find the group slack jawed at the sight of him in his armored suit. Zangetsu's Sealed form was in a sheath tilted at an angle across the back of his hips, the handle in just the right spot to be drawn out easily. "Just to let you know the armor is something new, it might have something to do with me being a devil now, but I'm not sure." He drew forth his blade, the handle long enough for both of his hands it ended without a blade guard shifting to black and white soul steel about two and a half feet long. The weight felt right in his hand as he manipulated it a bit testing its feel.

Sona made a sucking sound as she pulled in air. "Did anyone sense that?" Everyone shook their heads, Serafall did not answer as instead she was staring at Zangetsu a slight frown on her face. "Onee?"

"Hmm?" she broke eye contact, "No, no I did not sense anything either, though I have to say it could be passed off as a sacred gear if you wanted to, most would not know the difference."

"I think after this...it will be your turn to tell us a story Ichigo-san." Sona finally said. "You raise so many questions."

"Hey, I get a chance at him before we do that!" Tsubasa said glaring at Sona who sighed and nodded. "You will get your chance, but I would warn you that you are crossing some lines of decorum." Her Rook stiffened, hands moving to her backside. "Right, sorry." Then her eyes crossed to him. He got the sense she could see the direction of his thoughts as he pondered how in the world Sona would go about spanking someone so tall...the results of that train of thought were distracting and completely inappropriate. Her grin replaced the scowl on her face and she winked at him, Sona whirled on him and he coughed looking away and stepping back.

Serafall giggled at the interaction. "So that wasn't just a fluke, is that something that really gets to you?"

"Do you want to fight?" he said to Tomoe who was pulling a sword out of her backpack….said sword was longer than the backpack, go figure. "That sounds like fun, perhaps the winner gets to spank the loser." he sputtered not able to get a word out. "Kidding!" she giggled before paling as Sona and Tsubasa turned a withering glare on her. "Kidding." she said again. "I'm not into guys remember?"

Is that was this about? Ichigo glanced at the two who noticed his gaze and the question in it and for a moment they both looked away cheeks going pink. Ichigo gulped looking over at Serafall who he was reasonably sure of. The women gave him a look that was all sorts of dangerous and mouthed "Me to." at him.

His mind sort of went blank for a moment as he tried his best to comprehend and processes that thought, some part of him pointed out that Koneko had been making moves this whole time as well and her pointed comment and its meaning came into focus. Ichigo turned away from them and decided he did not have to deal with this yet. Tomoe gave him a look of pity through it was replaced by excitement as she pulled out her Katana "Ready?" Raising Zangetsu he nodded with such force that he almost strained his neck, Tomoe let out a sigh of pleasure. "Get ready then, cause I won't hold back."

She moved then, at speed almost akin to the flash step the move was graceful, lovely, and well practiced, her katana a glimmer of metal. Ichigo blocked the first strike head on, the girl's inhuman strength nowhere close to a match for his, but the blades hardly kissed before her arms went slack, her blade sliding along his and past him. She spun, bringing her blade low, the whole series of events a single motion. Zangetsu once again intercepted the attack as Ichigo swung the blade up from near the ground catching her Katana and hauling her upward throwing the blade out of position. Before he could even so much as flick an attack in her direction she leapt with the blow, her wings shooting out, sending her twenty feet into the air as she flipped and landed back on solid ground.

Ichigo was on her in an instant. As steel clashed on steel several times he matched her blow for blow, feeling the sheer difference in how they fought. She flowed between attacks, the motions so ingrained in her mind that they were almost without any thought. His attacks were just as fast, but lacking in the grace that a trained warrior possessed, by any rights he should have been at her mercy. Tomoe deflected a blow and it should have left him wide open as her blade came up and down. But his free hand shot out catching her hands on the hilt, stopping the blow. She reacted before he could close his grip, leaping back to avoid his counterattack. Again he should have been at her mercy, but this is how it had always been. His opponents had skill, teachers of the blade where as he had to learn in the press of battle fighting for his life tooth and nail.

They both vanished from sight, blades colliding in a shower of sparks, and he kept fighting her with one hand on the blade and the other free and open, ready to strike or block as needed. It was not a style she had ever encountered, but it did help him limit his new strength. "Fun, Fun, FUN!" Tomoe shouted in glee. "I love it!" purple circles danced along her blade. "Meguri Style Revised: Heavy Blade." she said as the circle disappeared and the air seemed to ripple and shift around the weapon. He sensed a mass of power around it, but did not know what it was supposed to do, he looked then to its user as she gripped her blade in both hands.

After a moment's thought he placed his other hand on his own blade, and it was good he did, as this time when she moved there was a distortion. She swung her blade and he met it with his full strength, there was an almighty crash as both were driven back several feet. A dull ache echoed through his arms but it was fine, Tomoe on the other hand was looking down at hers which were trembling, "Still can't control the backlash." she muttered looking back up. "Full power then before my arms give out." This time he recognized the distortion as one gravitic in origin and he grinned at the thrill of combat that ran through him. Without thought he channeled his spiritual power through Zangetsu and to his surprise crimson darkness coated his blade. It was not the Getsuga Tenshou, it was contained within and around the weapon itself. "Oh, that's cool." Tomoe said.

"Agreed!" Serafall shouted.

Tomoe raised her blade above her head. "Sorry, though, this is a ranged attack, so no cool blade clash." and brought her weapon down. The distortion blasted out from her in a battering ram of pure gravitic force, had he been in actual combat he would have dodged but he was here to have fun and test himself. He brought down his own weapon the instant before the force would have hit him. Zangetsu's crimson darkness cut through the magic though it resisted, the distortion flowed around him splitting off in two directions. Even so the strength of the blow nearly knocked him off his feet, then the moment was gone and he was still standing. Tomoe fell back on her butt, laughing. "That was wonderful, absolutely wonderful!" her arms trembled as she laughed. "Oh dear, I really need to work on that before I give it a cool name."

Ichigo walked over to her. "You ok?"

"Give me a minute, my personal gravity is all kinds of messed up right now, good fight though even if I finished too quick. They always say guys do that, but I guess girls can too." Ichigo was starting to wonder about this girl. She was...erratic he decided.

"My turn." Tsubasa said walking forward cracking her fists. "Put that away would you?" She pointed at his sword. "I'm more of a fisticuffs person and I'm supposed to show you the ropes with being a Rook."

With a slight effort of will the blade and armor vanished into motes of blue white energy which itself faded quickly. "That is useful." Sona mused from her spot.

"I agree." Serafall said. "Armor you can just will on and off."

"No time to put it on and it is always with you." Sona agreed. "I wonder if that can be learned?"

The words did not seem to give his fellow Rook pause as she walked up to him. "This is going to fun." She looked him up and down. "I was beating up spirits and monsters before I was a devil, fair warning."

Ichigo nodded at the statement sliding into the basic front stance "Karate?" she asked, in answer his hands came up, extended from his body. "Thought so, I'm more of a Muay Thai girl myself." Tsubasa stood ten feet away from him, standing almost casually with a lot of openings. It was an invitation to attack, but he felt not need to take it. The girl watched him for a few seconds before sighing. "Oh well, no free shot then." The ground cracked as her leg tensed and exploded with the shockwave of her leap, her leg coming around and colliding with his closed arms sending a shockwave of force that drove him back several feet.

Ichigo frowned at the blue lines that started growing on his arms, seemingly in time with the blow he had received. His arms hurt a little but it was not that bad, "That was not Muay Thai." he said.

"Did I say I could not use anything else?" she said "What's with the blue line's?"

They vanished along with an odd sensation. Now that he could sense it he could feel the spiritual power, but it was not coming from his soul in a normal way. Almost like it was going into his blood. "I have no idea, this is new."

"Cool!" he was almost distracted enough that he missed her blinding series of jabs. Every blow she landed on his arms was met with a flash of blue light in his blood. Her knee came up suddenly and sharply and he slapped his hand down catching the blow and stopping it. That was when his cheek met her elbow. 'Right,' he thought, 'Muay Thai.' and he was smashed off his feet and into the air.

He slammed his hand down channeling his power into the air, righting himself just in time to see a chunk of earth, at least several ton's worth, come flying at him. He had a moment to think about his next action and decided to go for the fun way, striking out to hit the flying earth with his bare hands and feeling a surge of pleasure at watching it shatter into pieces. A thought crossed his mind, a flashback of a scene of him hurling a rock at his opponent and following behind it. He used the flash step, moving to the ground and seeing Tsubasa flying through the space he had been occupying.

He flash stepped again as she turned, appearing behind her and clenching his fists together slamming them down, spiking her towards the earth. There was a shockwave as her trajectory changed abruptly, sending her into the ground with enough force to crater the ground. Ichigo winced at that, but before he could do anything Tsubasa got to her feet. "Ouch," she coughed hand on her side, "That hurt." She took in a pained breath. "Kaichou, any reason his strength is greater than mine?"

"Not that I know of," Sona replied, "But right now I don't know anything about what kind of powers he had before."

Tsubasa nodded and took in great breath and power began to dance along her body in vibrant light, she forced it into her aura and began to glow. "All right, get down here and let's fight." She reacted with a commendable speed as Ichigo kicked off the air and launched himself at her, his charging punch blocked by her two crossed arms. He let out a snarl of effort, putting more power into the blow and launched her twenty feet back. Flash stepping to reach her before she could recover, he grabbed her arm, which flailed out in a clumsy blow as he appeared, and twisting, hauling her over his body, slammed her into the ground.

The blow must have hurt, but it had not stunned her at all. Her legs kicked out, tangling his and tripping him, then Tsubasa straddled him allowing her so send several blows raining down at his face. He accepted the bows as his hand shot up, just long enough to reach around her neck, and yanked her down. He lifted his head at the same time and forehead to forehead they connected with an crack. That blow did stun her and he rolled taking the top position. His hand came and he hesitated now bringing down the blow, he regretted that in instant later as an elbow slammed into his ribs with enough force to roll him a good ten feet. He came to his feet about the time Tsubasa came to hers though she wobbled a bit some blood running down her forehead and into her eyes.

"Match." he said imminently, stepping back. His word was echoed by Sona, who must have had the same idea he had, with blood running into the eyes being the disadvantage it was, this practice fight was over.

Tsubasa stumbled a bit and without thought he moved to catch her, supporting her body. The instant he did so the wobble disappeared and a grin touched the girls face as she rubbed up against him for a brief moment. "You have a dense head." She told him.

"Yura-san." Sona growled

"Kaichou," her hand moved over her heart as she moved away from him. "he caught me as I was falling."

Serafall laughed at that. "Well done, nice flag."

Sona made an effort to ignore that "Ichigo" he focused his attention on her "Those were samples of what Knights and Rooks can do, once you get some study in magic should you wish to learn it I will have you face a Bishop, but for now your speed would make that moot." He nodded at her explanation.

"So Ichigo-kun, what kind of powers do you have now?" Serafall asked moved up in her slow, swaying, distracting walk.

"Basic enhanced speed, strength, toughness, being able to summon a sword, pseudo flight, air walking, the ability to sense people and differentiate them in a wide area, high speed movement and I was invisible to normal people while I was doing that...I do not think that is the case anymore."

"That is a ridiculous number of powers." Saji said.

"Devil's can do most of that," he countered, "But I guess my old powers were rejuvenated when I became this." he gestured at himself. He did not want to explain that he was a Devil, Quincy, Shinigami, Hollow hybrid. From what he understood the Evil Piece was supposed to be a full transformation, not a partial one as was his case.

"You said you lost your powers," Sona tilted her head, "How did that happen?"

Ichigo looked down at his right hand, the hand that had held Mugetsu, the hand that had struck down Aizen. "My powers came from my soul, I drew on the energy it released it was how I was what I was." He knew his face had lost most of its expression, but his voice was revealing more than he wished even though he could not help it. "But there are some things you have to do, and when someone tried to end all that I loved, all that I knew, I took most of my soul and transformed it directly into power, I got the strength I needed but that kind of power has it price."

Serafall put an hand on his shoulder, gone was any hint of flirtation. "Hey. If you ever need to talk about stuff, I have my own experience in a," she paused for a moment, "More than traumatic war, just to let you know."

He felt touched at the offer… hell had anyone he knew offered to talk with him about what had happened? He did not remember any, looking back that might have helped with things, a lot. "I just might take you up on that."

"Good, tonight, maybe after you finish your hunt with Rias-chan, as I have to leave tomorrow so that's about the only time I have."

"Sure, I know a few places that are open late." Ichigo rolled his shoulders then took a step back as he noticed two sets of very angry eyes on him, "Uhh.." he said.

"I'll have you know I have a college Minor in Psychology." Sona informed him, Tsubasa turned a look on her and Ichigo remembered his latest revelation about possible romantic interest. And he had just accepted a...well he did not think it was a date not with the topics of discussion unless the topic did not matter on a date. Come to think of it, he had never gone on a date before, unless you counted the ice cream with Levi-tan.

"Good, you can come too," Serafall said with a wide shark eating grin, "I'll even pick out our outfits."

"Yes, that...wait what?" Sona said blinking rapidly at her sister.

"Oh good, you said yes. I'll hire a limo." Serafall turned away from her stuttering sister pulling out a phone.

"W-w-wait.." Sona's cheeks were very pink...as was the rest of her and when she noticed him looking. She sputtered and ran after her sister, shouting her name in half-panic. Tsubasa's gaze was now severely annoyed as she glared at him. It was however surpassed by Saji who could have bored his way through steel on his gaze alone. Tsubaki was softly giggling and muttering about how she would have to give Serafall-Sama tips on what outfits Sona filled out the best. Momo and Ruruko looked excited and were quietly talking and shooting furtive looks at Saji, who was beyond noticing at the moment. Tomoe had wandered off to resharpen her blade and polish the steel seeming to be in her own world.

'I could have handled that better, couldn't I Zangetsu?'

There was a moment of pause at the thought. 'You are doing the best you can under the circumstances, in fact your progress is astounding, considering I did not think you capable of noticing romantic attraction to you.'

Ichigo winced, 'Have I missed something?'

There was a sensation like a hand on his head, 'Its ok, you are trying.'

Ichigo looked back to the two devil's glaring at him, and over to the two devil sisters one of whom had her hands locked around the others arm as if an attempt to stop her. The other sister just looked down on her fondly as she continued her phone call walking into the house dragging her little sister along, it looked like it took about as much effort as he would use to pick up a bag and he knew that Sona was strong in her own right. Serafall was quite the dangerous woman, which begged the question, why was she interested in him? The better question was, why was she also encouraging her sister? And the best question, what was he going to do about this?

Tsubasa made a growling sound that he could have sworn made the earth tremble. "So... Basketball tomorrow….just the two of us….until someone interrupts." It was clearly not what she wanted, but it was enough that her servere glare was downgraded to a glare. He gave a glance at the angry boy still fuming. "Just to be clear, in case I am misunderstanding something, I'm straight." He felt he was being smart in making sure that it was hate the boy was glaring at him with and not...whatever the females of his fellow peerage members were doing. Saji made a choking sound and began to cough as what looked like spit had gone down the wrong hole.

Reya, who had been quiet up to this point, looked up at him. "So, am I the only one who thinks your explanation was really light on the details and not at all satisfactory…" she looked around, "Anyone think we need to ask a few more questions?" There was silence. "Ok," she said, "I'll have questions later...and I think Sona will too after Hurricane Serafall-sama leaves." There was another silence as Ruruko and Momo looked ready to give Saji the Heimlich maneuver or CPR.

"Sounds reasonable." he replied.

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"So," Ichigo said as they appeared in front of what looked like an abandoned observatory in a flash of red power, "Anyone going to tell me what we are doing?" No sooner had he stepped into the Occult club's main office then Rias had teleported them to this place.

Issei looked just as lost. "I have no idea." he offered.

"That's ok, you're as new as me at this." he fixed his gaze on the redhead. "Bouchou?" he thought that was her prefered title.

She nodded at them, making a movement with her fingers. Kiba stepped behind her, his front to the broken double doors of the old place, his body set for combat. Koneko was standing off to the side watching him with a sort of lazy grace a cat might use while watching a swinging toy. Akeno was dressed in a Miko outfit and stood beside her King, most of her attention on the building, hand half raised and slightly glowing.

"This is a part of our world that most of us do not like to discuss, and one of the main assignments that appear for most peerages that live in the mortal world. For us, though, it is mostly an uncommon thing, but given that one has moved right to our doorstep we cannot ignore it."

"Ignore what?" Issei asked tentatively.

"A stray." Rias said, her voice tinged with what seemed like pity. "There are times when a reincarnated devil will either run away from or kill their master for one reason or another. If it was abuse the Maou have set up a system they can move into where events will be investigated. On the other hand there are some like the one we are hunting who went stray due to certain bloodthirsty tendences that her King would not sanction. From what I know he was about to command her to not act on her violent tendencies, she had gotten so bad. What is worse is that she committed the ultimate taboo, beyond becoming a stray, beyond any other act, she began to devour humans."

Issei gulped his eyes alight in a sudden understandable fear, Ichigo was, for a moment under his Mother's body, her warm blood running over him. His jaw set a little at Rias's words. "Doing so is not just wrong, it has effects on devil physiology and mental state. It makes one's instincts, no matter what they happen to be, the driving force the creature acts on. It also corrupts their power, growing it in some ways, but mutatining them to abominations that need to be put down." She glanced back at the observatory. "Which is what we are doing tonight. We did not know this stray was here until two people went missing and there were signs of devil power around the site." Rias looked over them, nodding at Ichigo before fixing her gaze on Issei. "This is something that must be done, but have no fear, you and Ichigo will not be part of it tonight, I merely want to you observe, nothing more.

"Y-yes Bouchou." Issei answered.

She looked at Ichigo, at his expression, his eyes. "If you feel you can add to the situation, you can off course do so." he nodded at that. As they walked into the building Rias began to describe the meaning and powers of the pieces. Ichigo sensed the creature hiding in the room the moment he got near the door, they walked in and his senses tracked it as it skittered in the darkness above them.

The room was broken, dusty, but still with much of the trappings of a place of business, trappings that no one had bothered to come back for. What drew his eyes the most was two spirits standing before two skeletons. They were that of an older couple, a man and a women well into their late sixties, both dressed alike in well maintained clothing that spoke of happier times. "Oh no," the woman said and Ichigo noted that no one but him seemed to hear it. "Those poor dears." The man made a sobbing sound, their hands locked together. He also noted that their chains of fate were untarnished meaning that they were not going to go hollow anytime soon.

He moved over to them they both paused as they realized he was looking at them, "This will be avenged." he said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. Grey eyes looked at him in awe, then flinched as a voice rang out.

"What could that foul smell be, does it taste sweet or bitter?" the words were said with such malice that they seemed to chill the air itself.

That atmosphere was ruined when Issei spoke out. "I see real oppai!"

The two plus's looked at the boy with more than a little horror at the improprality. Ichigo looked up at the creature who had moved out of the shadows. It was an ugly thing, the upper half from the crotch up that of a pretty women with dark hair but that lower body a horrific chimera of clawed back legs and human arms for front legs, a snake for a tail. A bizarre physiology that made no sense, had no rhyme or reason.

"Viser," Rias said, "You betrayed your master, you killed humans, you have abandoned yourself totally to your urges. For your sins you deserve the torment of a thousands hells, this is the judgment I pronounce upon you."

"Oh, shut your mouth, you jealous little slut. You just hate me because you'll never have breasts like mine." She moved her hands to rub them in self ecstacy. Rias, for her part, did not seem phased by the words and Ichigo wondered why she had not told them that she knew who they were hunting personally. Not that it mattered, not even in the slightest, as blue light left him in a rush, casting away all shadows and leaving no place to hide. The power of his soul shrouded him, armored him, armed him with Zangetsu formed in his hand rather than the sheath across his hips, gripped tightly.

The stray did not seem to know what to make of that, nor did they the rest of his peerage mates. "Cool!" Issei said.

His glowing blue eyes fell upon Viser, who tilted her head as if in amusement as the confusion faded. "Was that supposed to be impressive, brat?" Power gathered to her as she spoke and circles of red began to appear around her breasts.

She never saw him coming.

One heartbeat he was thirty feet away, the next several of her legs were sheared off, disrupting her spell and drawing forth a scream. The snake tail snapped at him, fangs dripping venom, mouth extended fully, but with almost casal ease his free hand shot up and grabbed the thing just under its mouth. He could see the skeletons of the old couple, see the shocked looks of pain on the Plus's faces. The rage boiled inside him and he harnessed it, letting out a snarl of pure hate, and started twisting, using his new strength, now united with his old, it almost felt too easy to hurl the creature, who must have weighed at least seven hundred pounds, off its feet. In the air he dragged her, spinning around to gain speed before slamming her into the tile floor with enough force to shatter it. The woman half was near him now, at eye level, eyes now fraught with fear. Fear at how fast that had happened, how outclassed in every way she was, but most of all, at Zangetsu raised high. "Getsuga," he said as blue light shrouded the soul steel of his Zanpakuto, "Tenshou!" he brought it down, the blade splitting Visor's head in half, before there was an explosion of power that shattered every window via a shockwave that also knocked Issei off his feet causing him to skid a few feet back.

All that remained of the monster was a charred husk and even that quickly disappeared into green light. Silence reigned for several long moments. "Well, I was going to have Kiba, Koneko, and Akeno show you two what the various pieces meant," Rias said, "But that works too...well done."

"T-t-that was so cool!" Issei said from his spot on the floor.

"I am inclined to agree." Akeno was looking at him differently, her head tilted in thought, eyes almost dancing with something hot and smoldering. Ichigo at the moment did not feel the desire to look into that further as he had a duty to perform. He walked over to the Pluses stopping in front of their ghostly forms.

"Thank you." the old man said.

"Yes, thank you so much young man." the woman agreed.

"Your welcome." he replied and raised his sword while tilting it to press the hilt onto the foreheads of each. "May you find each other again in the next life." he said as they began to vanish into blue particles.

"What you doing?" Koneko asked and he blinked, not having heard her move to his side.

"Showing respect to the dead, allowing them to move on now that their killer is dead." he replied in pure truth, even if it was a bit more littleral than spiritual.

"Oh," she looked embarrassed, "Sorry."

"No harm in a question." he said turing back to the others. "So any more strays?"

"No." Rias said. "Lots of questions, but no more strays."

Ichigo nodded. "Koneko would you help me bury these bones?"

"Of course." He felt a surge of gratitude as she moved the remains carefully with him outside the observatory, the rest of the peerage pitched in when they realised he was absolutely serious.

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When it was done Rias did them all a favor and simply moved them back to the club house, where they all took seats and Akeno bought them each a drink and some refreshments. Ichigo readied himself for another round of grilling, "So," Rias said, "You do have a sacred gear."

He shook his head, "The sword was part of my old abilities, the armor is new but it is no Sacred Gear."

"What do you mean?" Rias said "I can sense it clearly now."

"What?" As far as he could tell, none of them could sense spiritual power at all. "I can sense it, Sacred Gears have there own unique signature, like Issei and Kiba." Ichigo turned his senses to the both of them letting his awareness wash over their souls and power. Within Kiba was...was...it was not quite something he could place, save for the fact that he had been to a forge when he was younger as part of a field trip and it felt like something similar had been shoved into Kiba's Inner world. Issei was different in the sense that it felt like some vast creature was sleeping in him and its power was mostly expressed through his arm.

"I see what you mean but Zangetsu is not a sacred gear….hold on," he closed his eyes sending his focus inward and found himself standing atop the tallest building of his inner world. It was still in the process of renovation as thousands of new black buildings rose from the calm ocean to touch the sky, both rook pieces looked more settled and more firmly rooted within his soul. Zangetsu stood at his side and Ichigo's eyes drifted to the new shoulder guard and gold chain around his black cloak. "Just to be clear you still are my Zanpakuto?"

"I am." he said.

"Good...your not a scared gear right?"

"I am." he said again.

Ichigo took a moment to suck a breath in through his nose. "What?"

Zangetsu fingered the golden chain, frowning. "I don't know how" for a moment he looked genuinely disturbed, when your body was being remade it seems I was as well. I remember nothing save:" the old man paused his long face pensive "Save for a still small voice, laughing gently. It was a voice I have never heard before, and a power neither one of us has ever experienced."

"Ok," Ichigo said taking a breath, "Add that to the list things to find out, Has anything changed about us?"

"As far as I can tell nothing, it's more of a status." the old man paused. "I gained some knowledge that will be useful, I think, and my release phrase is now longer." Ichigo really did not like the troubled expression on Zangetsu's face, the last time he had seen it was before he used the Final Getsuga Tenshou.

"If it does nothing, then why would someone do it?"

The old man shrugged. "I do not know." They both stood there in silence for a moment. "Any reason Sona did not noticed your a sacred gear?"

"You did not use Getsuga Tenshou, the armor is not part of" the old man fingered the chain "This rather it is an expression of White's power, whereas the Getsuga Tenshou is an expression of mine and I am the sacred gear not white. Which makes even less sense, as we are both two sides of the same coin, both part of your power." Zangetsu looked up "You should get back, they are about to do CPR I think, but fret not I will think on this further."

With a nod to his Zanpakuto Ichigo opened one of his eyes to find Koneko very close to him looking concerned and holding his other eye open. "I'm fine," he said gently, "Just had to confirm something." Koneko did not seem so sure and sat down at his left very close to him. "I can tell you that Zangetsu was not a sacred gear before this." he said.

"Or you did not know" Rias said "This makes a lot of sense, this has to be where your former powers came from, you might not of known and I have never heard of a Sacred Gear that uses the soul for power. Perhaps that was why I could not sense it before..." Ichigo blinked as he watched the girl run away with a train of logic he barely had context for.

He noticed Kiba shaking his head and looking at him. "What?"

"Watching what you did, until then I was confident that in a real fight I could beat you. Now I am not so sure. The speed of a Knight, the strength of a Rook and that killing intent," the boy smiled, "That is not something I would want to face."

"She killed people, innocent people."

Kiba shook his head. "I'm not saying you were in the wrong, it's just, that sort of focus and will changes how you fight and what you are willing to do in that fight."

"I don't plan on using that when we practice or spar, I think we are friends and I don't do that to them."

That got a bit of laughter. "Think we are friends," the boy mused, "That works."

"And is something I hope you will work on with the rest of us," Rias interrupted, "You are not only Sona's you know, I hope that you will come to be friends with the rest of us too."

Ichigo lead back and felt a surge of please as Koenko leaned against him. "I can work on that." he passed the mention of Sona's name reminding him. "Oh, right," he took out his cellphone, "Are you done with me for the night?"

"Yes," Rias said, "Why?"

"Levi-tan," Rias sputtered at his casual use of a Maou's pet name, "She wanted to get a bite to eat and talk a little" he shook his head, "And she dragged Sona along to, I told them I would meet them tonight." The rest of the peerage stiffened and looked down at his side and he realised his mistake then. Slowly he looked down at the white haired devil who was...glaring at him in the cutest way he had ever seen, her cheeks puffed out, her eyes trying to go for killing intent, but failing.

"That's not fair," she muttered, "Bringing her sister into it, I can't do that."

"Uhh…." he replied.

"15-30," she muttered more deeply, "Well played"

Ichigo took a brief second to think about his next words very carefully, as he had no desire to be put through a wall, or knocked into the sky, or whatever "Anime" thought should happen in this situation. Thankfully it was taken out of his hands. "Oh, I forgot to mention I want you to get more acquainted with the gentler slide of our existence. With things such as contracts and deals. At some point this week you will be going with Koneko, there is a new client in Takasu nearby."

"Hmm." Koneko replied.

"After y'all are done I see no reason why there couldn't be some relaxation. I hear they have nice hot springs." Ichigo was not sure whether to thank her or glare at her. He elected to go with a nod of thanks as Koneko looked less likely to put him through the wall now, that was a plus. Now if only he could figure out what he was supposed to do about this whole...being chased thing, it was so much harder to figure that out then be in battle...oh well. This had been a productive day, he had sent two souls to the afterlife and killed a monster. It almost felt nostalgic and his thoughts ran toward Rukia, his eyes moving up to the ceiling as he wondered how was she doing?

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 **Hmm, Serafall you sneaky, sneaky, devil, truly worthy of the title Maou.**

 **Anyway Hope you all liked it, I just want to reiterate a point that was made in the chapter, Sona and Co did not notice Zangetsu as a** **Sacred** **Gear because Ichigo never used Getsuga Tenshou around them. That is the only time so far when it is clear that Ichigo's Z** **anpakuto has become something more... As for what will happen** **when he uses his Released form well that is anyones guess lol=)**

 **Have a good day,**

 **Fanboy913**


	12. Chapter 11

**Alright, new chapter is out hope you all enjoy.**

 **Fanboy913**

 **Also shout out to Aroneden for proofreading the chapter.**

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"Karin, Dinner!" her sister called up the stairs. Karin Kurosaki lifted her head up from the desk blinking blearily at her half-finished homework. She let out a sigh feeling the slight stab of a headache before she pushed back and got to her feet.

"Coming!" she called, knowing better than to argue with Yuzu, her sister had very set beliefs about the importance of meals. She left her room turning to head to the restroom when she paused, head swiveling to Ichigo's closed door. It had been left open ever since he transferred and as far as she was aware no one should have been in there. She sighed and walked over, pushing it open with ease. The room was as he had left it, well kept, absolutely clean and his badge lying on his bed stand. Rukia Kuchiki, as far as Karin was aware, had not been in Ichigo's room when he left. The women looked up at her face half frozen in embarrassment. "'Sup?" Karin said leaning against the door blank expression on her face.

"Uhh…." the woman replied, the open window behind her giving Karin a good idea of her means of entry.

"Looking for Ichi-nii?"

Rukia sighed, "Yes I…"she coughed, "I wanted to check on him, I don't get many chances to patrol anymore." Karin noticed there was a difference in the woman from when she had last seen her. Her hair had been cut in a bob to hang around her face and the band with the badge around her arm was new.

"Well, you won't find him here."

She froze. "What?"

"He got an opportunity to transfer to another school, one very highly rated and expensive, but they offered him a full ride."

"Oh." She tried to hide it, but her facial expression made her disappointment clear. Karin wondered if she noticed her hand had moved to gently brush the badge Ichi-nii had left on the table. "I see."

"It's only about a hundred miles that way." Karin pointed. "A place called Kuoh."

The women let out a sigh and banished the disponent from her face. "Well, if that is the case I am sorry to have bothered you, I will take me leave." She turned away.

"You know Yuzu could set out another place. Even if she could not see you, she would not mind feeding someone else."

"I, I really shouldn't, this place is not my home it would be even more impolite then what I have already done."

"If he had asked you would that have made a difference?" Rukia flinched and Karin nodded. "He missed you, ya know."

"What?"

"Didn't say anything, of course, you know how hard of a head he has." she did not laugh like Karin had intended but she was never the best with people. "We could tell though. He missed you most of all, I think."

The woman turned away and let out what sounded like a ragged breath. "I see."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind you checking up on him where he is or using his room if you needed it."

The woman traced her finger across the badge again. "That part of the country is not under my division." she sounded regretful. "It would not be proper."

Karin shrugged. "Suit yourself. He should be back for summer break, so if you check then you should find him."

"Thank you Karin."

"Ya Welcome." She turned away reaching a hand to shut the door.

"Did you sense anything in the past few days?" Rukia asked.

Karin paused. "What do you mean?"

"Like….like he was looking at you somehow?"

Karin hesitated, but only for a moment, "I had gone to bed early and," she frowned, "It was like I felt something move over me, rapidly, too fast to even know if it had been something real."

Rukia drummed her hands along the badge. "Odd."

"Tell me about it." Karin said.

"Karin, get down here, your foods getting cold and dad is whining at mom's picture again!"

"Coming!" Karin called, glancing back to see the window had closed and Rukia was nowhere in sight.

"Why does everyone think that is cool?" she muttered as she closed the door and headed downstairs for dinner.

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"Well, well, well."

Ichigo glanced up as Tsubaki entered his room without so much as knock. He slipped on his vest and made a sound of annoyance. "What?"

"Well, considering the place I booked for you three, I thought I would have to magic you up some proper clothing, not just what you have to wear for school."

Ichigo glanced at his mirror, he was wearing the best clothes he had, something his dad taken him shopping for. A father and son outing, his dad had told him. He wore black shoes, which he kept polished to a shine just as his old man had shown him, neatly pressed black pants with a black belt looped around his middle, the silver metal of the buckle a pleasant contrast to the dark leather. His shirt was white, pure white, which was made to stand out against the black vest he had just put on and his black tie. His tie was interesting, not a traditional tie by any means, it was black like his vest and pants and went around his neck easily enough where it differed was that the two ends crossed in an X both allowing the middle of his neck buttons to slip through two tiny cuts in the fabric. Once that was done he slipped them into the vest where he slipped two more buttons hidden in the vest through small cuts in the fabric at both ends. He did not know why he had felt called to this choice of clothing but he could not fail to notice how the X lined up with what his armor had on it.

"You clean up very nicely, right now you almost look as good as Kiba."

Ichigo made a sound of appreciation. "That would almost be a complement, except you did not say that I almost look as good as he does in a suit."

"Can't have everything." She offered. "Sometimes fate is a master sculptor making a masterpiece and," she looked at him, "Sometimes it...lets it's less-than-capable apprentice do the work instead."

"Oh," he put his hand over his heart, "You wound me."

"I know, but you can't have all the girls around you in your harem, it is just not healthy."

"I don't have a harem." he muttered, scowling heavily. "Having more than one person interested in a relationship is not a harem."

"Give it time, devil society as a whole is pretty accepting of polygamy." she shrugged. "And given one of our base instincts is to gather and closely bond to a group of people for protection and advancement of goals, it is not as rare as one might expect."

Ichigo turned to her feeling that she was saying something very important. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think peerages are something new, something only created when the evil pieces were?" She shook her head. "Where do you think Lord Ajuka got the idea for such a formation? Oh, sure, he codified it and limited its size to a set number of individuals, but before that a peerage was nothing rare. Wherever powerful devils walked, they attracted others of their kind to them. It's part of our greedy nature to gather power to ourselves so that we might shape the world around us."

"Why do you say greed, should not greed mean a situation like that couldn't happen?"

"Think of it like a pack or a pride type thing, greed is only a part of it. Groups like that support each other, accept each other, bonds form, and what happens, happens. Then add in that we are thinking, rational beings who, by our very nature, are driven to form groups. Now that group could be a peerage like we are in, or it could be a relationship with multiple people." She smiled. "For example, I like Kiba Yuuto a lot, I would like to be a relationship with him and I am not the only one of course. My friend and peer Reya, up until recently, had similar goals."

"Recently?"

Tsubaki waved a hand in his direction. "She got to see some new eye candy and is considering her options, but anyway, I am perfectly willing to work with her if I think that both of us together have a better chance at nabing my target. I do not feel any sexual urges towards her, we are friends, and save for some fooling around in the baths, that is all we'll ever be if things remain as they are. Now, if I and Reya got into a relationship with Yuuto those feelings would change. My nature, her nature would make us more open to the idea that we are also in a new relationship."

It was an effort on his part to remain focused on what she was saying and not on some level ponder the images that little spiel brought up.

"This is not to say that everyone does this, but it can happen and, for our kind, it can work. I think you should know that, going in, just to make sure that you are fully informed as to what is going on in the background. Though I caution you, do not assume this basic instinct existing means that it is being used in this case. It is simply part of who we are, you included."

Ichigo wondered if his nature had changed with him being part devil now. If similar emotions could build in him….he did not know and did not think Zangetsu would know either. Perhaps the fact that he had not rejected the throught out of hand was a sign. "Thank you for the insight." He leaned over to tie on his shoes. "I will….think on that."

"Don't try and force it, but if it starts to happen naturally do not be surprised." She handed him a box after he was done tying his laces.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Reservations for the restaurant you are taking them to, as well as two flower pins you will put on them yourself and not pass off that responsibly to them. It is called a romantic gesture and you will perform it or I will kick you from here to Saturn."

He resisted the urge to gulp as she turned away. "The ride for the three of you will be here shortly."

"Just something to point out, Levi-tan and Sona are sisters, correct?"

"Yes and, given our nature, that would not change much should something form. Good day." She closed the door as she walked out. Leaving him with a host of more questions and an expression so odd he could not tell what it meant and he was the one making it…..for his sanity's sake he just repressed the feeling and walked out of the guest house.

It had been his plan, originally, to take them to a small place in town with casual dress, but Tsubaki had informed him that, as Sona's friend, she felt that she was better qualified to make this decision. Ichigo had almost objected, but managed to keep his mouth shut...he would credit his good sense, but the Naginata that had appeared in her hand _might_ have had something to do with it.

He entered the main parlor and was about to take his seat when there was a flurry of steps. His breath caught in his throat as Serafall jumped the last ten or so stairs and landed perfectly on her heels, the things did not look so much as strained. It seemed she had chosen to go Chinese today as she wore a Cheongsam of red silk with a pattern of flowers on branches in what he thought was actual gold thread, not gold colored thread but actual Gold made into thread. The dress fell to about halfway above her kneecaps, which gave it at least four more inches of coverage than Kuoh Academy regulation uniform. Granted there were cuts in side of the dress that went all the way up to her thigh, giving her body full range of movement and allowing for more than a little show of enticing flesh when moving. Someone, he suspected Tsubaki, had even done up her hair parting it with two gold pins and wrapping up the rest of her hair in a tasteful bun that rested gently against her neck. It was gorgeous on her, though if he had one compliant/complement it would be that the chest was….tight to say the least. If the dress had been intended for her, which he thought that it had been as if fit her so perfectly everywhere else, then she or the maker must have wanted her chest emphasized. Ichigo had to pull his eye up after they strayed down for a moment.

"Ichi-kun!" Serafall waved at him, a very dangerous smile spreading over her face as she looked him up and down. "Very nice." Then she paused and tilted her head. "Ichi-kun does not work very well, does it?"

Said boy blinked as he kept his face up and eyes on hers, not allowing them to drift below chin-level. "Not really..."

"Hmm, well, I will come up with a better one." She spun around on the toe of her shoe and he noticed that her backside had been emphasized too, now that he got a good view of it. "What do you think?"

He had to gulp and wet his mouth with his tongue as sudden flare of nerves hit him hard enough to rob him of speech...Right, he had never gone on a date before, ever...and here he was going on one, with not just one girl but two. "You look like a goddess." he said. It took a moment before he realized how that sounded and his face turned red as a beet. He turned his head to cough while trying to clear his thoughts. He almost missed seeing Serafall's hands clasped together and her cheeks darken. Her face had taken on a much younger expression of joy and relief and it somehow belonged there just as much as her adult expressions and her wicked sensual smile.

Another pair of footsteps sounded down the stairs and these were slower, more hesitant perhaps. It seemed Sona had chosen dark shoes with smaller heels, he doubted she wore them often enough to be comfortable with anything else. She leaned over and peeked down at them hesitation written across her face jerking back as she noticed both were watching her. Ichigo and Serafall glanced at each other as they waited. After a few more seconds, in which he was sure he heard Tsubaki offering words of encouragement some of which involved "It is not against your morals as the Student Council President to go on a date." and similar things such as that, she did make her way into view.

Ichigo found himself relieved and stuck dumb at the same time. She had gone with a modest pale blue dress that showed a little of her modest chest, but otherwise it would have not been out of place at any high society party. What struck him was that she did not need to flaunt anything to be beautiful. To be fair neither did her sister, he suspected she was doing it because it was fun, but it made sense on Sona, it worked with how she walked, the color going well with her pale skin. She shivered as she glanced at him as if his eyes alone could touch her everything. "Well," Serafall said with a grin, "I wanted to go with something that had a lot more of an exposed back, but I think Tsubaki chose well."

"That she did," he coughed, "You look lovely, Kaichou."

The girl went a little red at the compliment. "Sona for tonight, please." she whispered.

Right, date, stop being a dumbass, he told himself. "Well, I don't know where we are going, but I do have something for both of you." He said opening the box to see two red roses on pins.

Serafall grinned like the cheshire cat. "How thoughtful." She walked forward presenting herself to make it easier for him to pin it on her...by which he meant she pushed out her chest even more notably. Only a slight tremor ran through his hand as well as a hesitation as he gently pinched the fabric of her dress careful not to touch her. He thought he messed up when she let out a slight moan and he dropped the rose moving back hands in the air. Sona growled at her sister and Serafall wiped a tear from her eye. "Kidding." she said. So, like the glutton for punishment he was, Ichigo pined the rose to her, with no repeat of the prior behavior, and he moved on to Sona. He went about his job even slower and more careful, he felt like he was looming over her as the girl had turned her eyes from him, cheeks aflame. She looked so different, so unsure of herself it was such an odd contrast. He stepped back letting go of the flower and Sona relaxed gently touching the rose and leaning forward to take in its scent, he turned away before she could have caught him staring.

Tsubaki nodded at him. "Your ride is here." She informed them.

Ichigo glanced out the window and winced as a freaking limo pulled up. "I am so far out of my league." he mumbled.

"Hey," Serafall slapped him on the back hard enough for him to notice, "I get to decide who is and who is not in my league, you have no input." She hooked her arm around his and her other around Sona and dragged them out the door.

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By the time they sat down around a table Ichigo had no real idea where they were anymore. They had not been in the limo that long, but the speed at which they had been passing other cars it was a miracle that they had not been stopped or arrested or crashed...he had just assumed Magic or 'The power of Imagination' had been involved and left it at that.

They were now, however, at a very fancy restaurant, though Serafall stuck out like cat in a hen house with her dress. Ichigo had made a painstaking effort not to study...how it fit her and had failed in that respect miserably. Sona was easier to look at, but she would become skittish if he stared too long. He had finally realised what was wrong and it had almost made him laugh. She, Sona Sitri, was just as nervous as he was. He was just used to being nervous and out of his depth, being forced to do something, move on, speak or do something.

"So," Serafall leaned back, "What do you want to talk about, I am here to listen, if you are willing to do the same?"

That got Sona's attention and he realised that Serafall would have liked to do some small talk, perhaps some flirting, but given her sister's discomfort had moved the conversation to something she could focus on. "I guess I should start at the beginning and ask an important question, have either of you ever heard of Shinigami?"

Serafall froze only for a moment, but it was enough. Her heat filled eyes sharped and her expression, while not changed, lost its causal sense.

"Sometimes the Reapers of the underworld are called that, a few Youkai can fit the term but you make it sound like an organization." Sona answered.

So Serafall knew something, well that was helpful to know. Ichigo leaned back, the noise of the restaurant ensuring that their words would go no further than the table, "The past three years of my life have been...interesting." he stated. "I truthfully was not sure how much I was going to share or even if I was going to share anything about it...until you offered Levi-tan." He smiled a little. "No one has ever offered to just listen to me and I never thought to ask."

Serafall's expression regained some of that fiery glow that made his chest fill with butterflies and his...lower half react. "So this story really starts when I was about to watch my sister get eaten by a monster."

That got their attention. "A hollow had been attracted to her due to the..."

"Hollow?" Sona asked then put her hand over her mouth, "Sorry."

Serafall kept her face in a modest expression that gave away little as Ichigo glaced at the two of them. How could they have never seen a hollow before...wait could they even see them? he dismissed the thought, they had more than enough of a spiritual pressure to do so. Perhaps they were a rare encounter then, after all their souls were exactly beacons and he had little doubt Sona could kill just about any hollow short of an Arrancar and Serafall...well she would just win, end of story….well perhaps Ulquiorra could have given her an even fight but that was pushing it.

"They are for the most part a race of beings born from souls that remain in the human world to long and are corrupted."

"I, I have never heard of that." Sona said looking more than a little disturbed at the admission.

"Well, they mostly deal in things that I don't think you can see...can devils see ghosts?"

"Only when they are fully manifested," Serafall supplied, "otherwise we are as blind as anyone else."

"Well I could always see them, even as a kid and I know some people who can seem them as

well. But sometimes these monsters can be attracted to those with a person who...who's soul..." he felt around in his head for the proper words, "produces more of the energy they feed upon." His mouth twitched in a frown. "Everything I am now, started about a year and a half ago and as much as I hate to say it….it was a day like any other." he gave a dramatic pause and Serafall was polite enough to gasp. "Thank you," he said, "I was minding my own business when a midget walked into my room." perhaps it was the way he smiled when he said it, the pure fondness that echoed through his voice. Both girls leaned forward a little eyes intent "That was the first time I met Rukia Kuchiki face to face, my first realized encounter with a Shinigami." he looked at Serafall. "My sister in danger, right in front of me about to be eaten alive and I had to do something." The girl closed her eyes and he had a feeling she was reliving something that might have been similar.

"So, I charged the Hollow...with a chair." He sighed at how pointless the action had been. "That...that did not end well for me and Rukia had to save my life, taking an attack that would have killed me and did almost kill her." He did not think they were expecting that as both leaned forward to listen. "In an act of desperation she gave most of her power to me, changing me, transforming me into something akin to what she was."

"What spell did she use to do that?" Sona asked.

"Ran me through with a sword." he said with a shrug, they both stared at him. "To be fair I returned the favor when a while later she got possessed by two hollow things, I think…." he frowned at the memory of Dark Rukia, he still was not quite sure what had really happened, but he had not pushed his friend. "But that was not for a long time, long story short I killed the monster and saved my family." he sat back in his chair "Then things got hard, you would think superpowers solve everything, but all they do is give you more responsibility." Not that he was complaining. Now that the mantle of protection was his again he had never felt more himself. "Not that it's a bad thing." he said.

"It is an annoying thing," Serafall added, "But your right, it is not a bad thing."

"Especially when we realized Rukia could not do her duties due to her transference, which meant I had to take over her job, and my town had a lot of monsters that seemed to show up." He sighed again thinking of just how naive and uninformed he had been. "I thought I had been doing well, which of course was when Rukia's brother showed up and proceed to quite handily defeat me, destroy Rukia's power in me and take his sister back for trial and execution."

"What, why?" Sona asked

Serafall made a face. "Sounds like a dick."

"Ya he still is," Ichigo agreed, "probably, I have not seen him in a while."

"You said trial, that implies a governmental structure," Serafall mused after laughing a little, "How does it work?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I only know a little. They have a nobility with houses given certain tasks to perform, most of which I don't know. They have a sort of high court that rules on all manners of law and punishment they call the Central 46, shockingly it had forty six members."

"Then they should have called it the Central 47." Serafall quipped.

"That would make no sense." Sona chided.

"Then they have their military wing which I had the most experience with called the Gotei 13 which is made up of thirteen squads, a Kido," he paused, thinking of a better word for current company, "Magic division, and spies, of course. Their job is both keep Soul Society safe, kill hollows and allow departed souls to pass on if they remain in this world."

A waiter came by to refill their glasses with juice, Serafall being the only one old enough to have any of the hard stuff. "But, back to the story, I found out what was going to happen to her and some...allies appeared in my life to help, for their own reasons of course." he smiled a little "I learned very quickly that I did not care if I was being used so long as what I was doing was right. Another long story short, I got my powers back, my friends got their own powers and together we invaded the home of the Shinigami." Serafall almost dropped her fork but managed to catch it half way down. "Was very stupid, I agree, and without our allies, the incompetence of the 13 divisions and," he hesitated at the name, "Sosuke Aizen starting his "War" we would not have succeeded." He did not expect the name to mean anything to them and it did not. "In my mind he was and still is the most dangerous person I ever had the displeasure of meeting or crossing blades with. He was a genius, ten steps ahead of everyone and only matched by his own arrogance. You know his "War" involved only about a couple dozen people, the most powerful people in Soul Society, and he beat them, beat them all. People who were my friends were affected, people I knew cut down."

He stared down at his hands. "I had nightmares for weeks afterward, I still kind of expect monsters to pop out at any moment."

"You get used to it." Serafall said looking away. "In my experience it never quite goes away once you have it. It helps to have friends and," she looked at her sister lovingly, "Be willing to trust that others can take care of themselves." Sona looked both embarrassed and out of place at the turn the conversation had taken.

"It did not help that I felt useless," Ichigo admitted, "I lost my powers at the end of the war, even my baby sister was more powerful than me. My friends had to deal with protecting our town from hollows and I had to watch or rather not watch, as I could not see them anymore." He paused for a moment "Most humans cannot see Shinigami or Hollows and it seems you two cannot sense me either so that might be the case as well."

Serafall nodded slightly and he wondered if she noticed that she did so. "I can see a small amount of Devil power," Sona answered, "But nothing else, though given how handily you dealt with my peerage I believe it is there. A warning though, none of your opponents...except for perhaps Saji were actually trying, I wanted them to give you a sense of their abilities."

Ichigo nodded "That makes sense, why else would Tomoe use an incomplete sword style and Tsubasa take the time to throw rocks."

That seemed to please Sona. "Good you are learning"

"Do you...ever break down a little." Serafall asked with a far away look in her eye, speaking as if their conversation about war scars had never stopped.

"I have wanted to," Ichigo sighed, "Me coming here was in its own way me breaking down. I needed a change or it was going to drive me crazy." his hand opened, palm out. "I wonder what it says about me that now I have power again, those feelings have gone?"

"No shame in being happy that you are whole again." Serafall replied with a role of her eyes. "Do not expect us, of all creatures under the sun, to give you grief at being happy for power. We are devils after all."

That got a smile on his face. "True."

A waiter came by and filed their glasses. "So I've talked about me for a while," Ichigo said after downing most of the liquid, "tell me about yourselves please."

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As it turned out Sona and Serafall had an...odd family dynamic. Ichigo supposed that in a society were lifespans were measured in thousands of years this was to be expected. Serafall herself was just six hundred years old, alive long enough to be part of the Great War of the Three and the Civil War of the Underworld, but not long enough to be considered an adult by devil standards. So he was more surprised to learn Sona was only seventeen, apparently a devil developed almost in line with human children until around...well around Sona's age. Around perhaps three thousand they would start ageing again, though the appearance of youth never left.

Serafall explained that she was the youngest of the four Maou, after which Sona had proudly proclaimed her power was so great that she had no doubt her sister would become the strongest of all. Serafall had teasingly asked if she had ever seen just how strong Sirzech was and Ichigo then learned about Sirzech, Rias's older brother and the leader of the four Maou.

He learned learned that the head of their family was Sona and Serafall's mother the Lady Seras Sitiri and her husband Lord Talon Sitiri having taken his wife's name. They also had a stepmother….at the same time as a mother and father….as it turned out Seras had married Talon's sister as well, Lady Sabra Sitri. Ichigo had been forced to realize that Sona's Queen had not just been spinning him a story about devil relationships.

From the look on Sona's face as Serafall explained it he had a feeling she would have left that part out, but Serafall had ignored her sister's subtle hints, and not so subtle hints, that her sister need not tell him the details of their family dynamic just yet. Ichigo felt however that Serfall had a purpose for telling him this so early. Now if only he could figure out what that was, he would feel better about the whole thing.

"Why are you smiling?" Sona asked hotly after she noticed his grin. She had been reaching over to put a hand over her sister's mouth, though the older girl held her at bay with two fingers. "Nothing, it's just, your relationship with each other is so different, yet so similar to my sisters'."

"Oh?" Serafall asked.

"You're more open," he decided, "You both speak your mind, my sisters are more about the silent communication."

"And only one of us has propriety," Sona growled glaring at her sister, "Did you have to tell Mom's embarrassing wedding night with Dad and Aunty?"

Serafall grinned. "It was totally necessary," there was a pause, "I think." She did not defend herself as Sona pushed away the girls restraining fingers. "Well, Ichigo, I think that was a good amount of sharing for us, now it's your turn again while we are waiting for desert." The expression turned a bit somber. "I have heard from someone very close to me that it is important to talk to other people about your feelings," she closed her eyes and half growled, "whether you want to or not, so I think we should get the reason you wanted to come in the first place."

Ichigo leaned back in the chair, and knew his expression became guarded out of sheer force of habit his eyes closed trying to put his thoughts in order as thoughts and words spun around in his head. "Pressure." he said at last.

Serafall gave him such a look of complete understanding that when she put her hand on his he did not flinch, Sona did not say a word either. "Pressure." he said again gently pulling his hand back. "It was like a slow build up, I had to protect my town from monsters, I need to save my friend from execution, I had to go save my friend who had been kidnapped, I was the only one who could stop Aizen, I had to give up a part of myself if I wanted to save everyone." he paused to take a drink "You would think that when all that responsibility was gone from me...i would be satisfied, that I would be grateful to live a normal life. Hell, I thought like that sometimes, wishing that I did not have the responsibilities of so many on my shoulders." His fingers traced a line in the tablecloth "But, I did not realize just how much power and responsibility were intertwined." Serafall nodded her expression filled with a tired understanding of one who carried an even greater weight than he.

"I don't think you ever left that responsibility." Sona said into the silence, "in the time I have known you, the actions you have taken to defend and protect those around you were part of what drew me to you in the first place." There was an earnestness to her words, one that washed away all thought of embarrassment at her words. "You fought a magician...a minor one to be sure, but one empowered. You _killed_ ," she put emphasis on the word, "killed a fallen angel all to protect a boy you did not even like. You never put down that responsibility, you merely lacked the power, I think that might have been part of what you were feeling."

Had it? Ichigo did not know, but it was very much worth thinking over. "Perhaps, though I would say I gained perspective here," his mouth twitched, "A small amount of maturity perhaps?"

"If you had, you just lost it by saying those words." Serafall chidded though her joking expression went away. "So, what you are saying is that you are a man who needs responsibility?"

Ichigo shrugged. "After all I experienced...I think it is part of me. It was one of the reasons I really have no problem being in a peerage or taking commands from others. I understand that people use me, I am easy to predict, my motives are plain, I don't really have any goals beyond shelter those that I can see, those that are within my reach. Had I not gained my powers when I did it would be different, but now power is part of who I am, responsibility defines me." He looked up at Sona. "And you and Rias gave it back to me, I will never forget that, I will always be grateful for that, no matter what happens."

Sona looked a bit stunned by his words, touched and there was a look in her eye. A hunger that he did not think of as bad or dangerous. It vanished as she resumed control over herself. "You're welcome, the only thing I ask of you is to protect your peerage and your school."

"Something he would have done anyway." Serafall said.

"Thank you as well Levi-tan," He bowed his head slightly, "I needed to reason through that and...it was cathartic to have someone who understands listen. Even if your job, as I understand it, trumps mine."

"That is why fate had me start strong," Serafall grinned, though it was slightly strained, "Though I will admit, I did hide my power a little when I was younger, but fate said 'no, you will have a job and you will do it' so, I learned."

Ichigo did not give himself time to consider if what he was doing was improper on a first date, he just knew that he needed to do something. He reached out and took her hand in his, and it seemed Sona had the same thought, at the same time, as she took her sister's other hand. The Maou who could wipe out Japan looked at them her eyes for just a moment like that of a child seeking reassurance. It was a moment of vulnerability that was, perhaps, the hardest thing she could have done. It was gone as she closed her eyes, but squeezed their hands and despite the odd looks they got. "Nee-san." Sona whispered as she leaned against her sister. The same sister who had bought her the gift of growing up in peace with her blood, sweat, and effort. Ichigo let go gently moving back to give the sisters a moment.

Serafall's hand scraped up grabbing his, not harshly, but strongly. "You are part of this moment," she mouthed silently, "you are no stranger."

It baffled him how she could say that, how little time they had spent with each other, and yet it felt right to know that she thought him part of this...whatever this moment was to her. Which begged the question, what was this moment to him?

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The car was slower on the way back, though Serafall mentioned that she would not be going back in the house as she had taken all the time off she could spare from her duties on this date. They were quiet on the way back, all in the back seat. Ichigo had found himself placed in the middle of the two sisters and they had taken either side of him and both leaned against him. He wondered if he was a terrible person right then, as excitement ran through his body at the touch and proximity of two lovely women.

For his part he remained silent and unmoving, compromising with his human instincts by taking no action himself. He decided, if this is what dating was like it was not so bad, or as complicated as the other boys his age seemed to make it out to be.

Right now he had his eyes closed and let his spiritual sense rome, around this moving car, the areas they drove through and found nothing really, no hollow's no plus's, it made him wonder how special was Karakura Town? Why were there so many in his hometown, but absolutely nothing in this place?

He frowned and turned his focus inward falling into himself, passing to his inner world. He same to a stop on the Rook piece that was Sona's standing atop the water like it was solid ground. It rippled under him pure and sweet looking as if it had come from a mountain spring. He waited there for a moment before Zangetsu appeared, rising from the water like a monster from a horror movie. Ichigo noted that the old man had a hand on the gold chain, the motion seemingly unconscious on his Zanpakuto's part. "Do you know what that does yet?"

"It…" he shook his head, "If I was a true Sacred Gear I would know for sure, but this is something that was forced on me, it has changed me and I don't know how it was done, or by who."

"What do you know?"

"The chain signifies the chain of fate that all have, but it is in the wrong place and it loops back into me."

"Looping fate?" Ichigo questioned.

"Or fate without meaning, or fate no longer has meaning." Again there was that disturbed look that crossed his Zanpakuto's face. "It disturbs me that I do not have the answers, that this was done to us, done to your soul."

"You and me both," Ichigo replied looking at the gold chain, "could it mean no fate?"

Zangetsu did not answer immediately, he looked from the chain to him and back. "You are of the blood of the Quincy God." He said, or blurted out.

"What?" Ichigo said feeling almost whiplash at the sudden statement.

Zangetsu for his part raised his hand to his mouth touching his own lips gently. "I alone am not all of your Zanpakuto."

"WHAT?" Ichigo shouted.

The old man's eyes had gone wild as he looked up and around as if expecting something. "I can speak, how?" He looked over to Ichigo. "I need some time, I ask you to trust me," he looked back to the golden chain, "I must...think on what just happened." the old man did not give him a chance to answer he just sank into the water and vanished.

Ichigo stared at the water the old man had vanished into, mouth open and very, very confused.

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 **(Authors Note) (A few things I want everyone to know)**

 **In case it is not clear I want everyone to know that Ichigo has not unsealed Zangetsu yet, his fullbringesqe form is his sealed state.**

 **Zangetsu is not just a sacred gear, that is part of how he is now but he is still a Zanpakuto and still forged of Ichigo's soul, it is also highly important this happened not something I threw in at the last second.**

 **Sona's peerage with the exception of Saji were not going all out against Ichigo when he fought them in practice.**

 **That is all I can think of right now, so I wish you all a good day.**

 **Fanboy913**


	13. Chapter 12

Quick thanks to **Aroneden** for helping to make this chapter actually readable.

Hope you all enjoy.

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The boy looked up from his seat at the same time his father did, given how quiet was this place's natural state you could hear that footsteps and voices long before they were near. The boy looked up to his father, a question held in his deep brown eyes staring at the man. His father held a small brush in his hand, the handle bone white the brush a deep black. There was no inkwell nearby for that brush never needed any Ink, in truth it was not a brush at all, not really.

His father sighed and set aside his work, a book of many pages filled with writing of simple beauty, thousands of letters with no mistake in sight. "Stay silent." he said and, taking a blank page, the boy watched as his father wrote, _The boy remained unseen as the uninvited guests forced their way into his home._ The brush rose, there was a small wave of unseen power as the paper dissolved into spiritual energy.

The doors were opened and three men entered the room uninvited, two were hooded and carried each a rare, Soul Forged weapon across their backs. They said nothing, but saw everything, everything except the silent boy. Their eyes passed over him, but no normal or supernatural sense could see him. The old man leading the two hooded men walked with a long staff, it was gnarled and twisted, formed of a deep black wood and twisted around a core of white metal...another Soul Forged weapon. The man had lost sight in one eye which looked milky white and his skin stretched in places and wrinkled in others. His gait was steady however, assured and purposeful as he strode to the table the boy's father worked at. The two men stared at each other, the old man with a burning contempt that the boy knew could have only been born of a broken love. "Taro." The old man greeted.

His father did not answer, and his gaze held nothing of the man's contempt, only a deep pain and unflinching resolve. "Taro." the old man said again, biting back what looked like an angry growl. His father did not answer to his name, his gaze was fixed on the old man and seemed to dismiss his bodyguards. "Fine. If you will not speak to me, then I will speak to you." The staff rapped on the floor and the wood cracked. Without taking his eyes from the old man, the boy's father drew lines on a sheet of paper and the paper vanished. As the wood floor repaired itself, the sight seemed to enrage the man only more. "You have this power and this is what you do with it, you write books and repair small cracks." The old man's good eye burned. "The council will not leave you be for much longer Taro. Your power could save us all, your power could win this war." Again there was no answer. "Godless Void, is this all you are good for now? Our people are dying, our home is dying." The hand clenched into a fist around his staff. "Outside this little paradise you have made for yourself our people fight tooth and claw to stave off extinction. Did you know the Titans have joined the war against us?" The sorrow in his father's expression only deepened, through there was something else there too, an anger, not at the news, but at the person before him.

"Oh, you think this our fault Taro, you think this our just harvest?" The man laughed bitterly. "Oh, but of course you think that, you would have us condemn ourselves by inaction? Fade into the Void slowly? Your words are well remembered, your prophecy's of our downfall. Some wonder if you have written it yourself." Again his father did not answer. "You have the power of creation, you can make anything from nothing, you could rewrite our fates and you do nothing." The dark wood on the staff began to twist and writhe like a living thing.

His father shook his head. "What?" The man asked with pure venom in his voice. "You will not save us?"

"Nothing can." His father answered at last, the words seemed to stun the old man who took a step back. "Nothing can save us as we are. You and your ilk made us into thieves and monsters. Do you think fate is written by one person? The children of Odin have three, titans are subject to three. And because of what you and this council have done they have all written our end." His father held up his brush. "This cannot undo that, and you must be truly desperate to come here and demand that I change what cannot be." His father's voice had not changed in the slightest with every word spoken.

"That does not mean you could not help, you could write our greatest warriors stronger, write our wounds no more, write our smiths success at the creation of the soul weapons."

"To what end? To delay the inevitable, that is what got us here in the first place."

The staff came up suddenly and smashed down to shatter the table, but his father drew a word in the air and the blow ceased a hair's breadth above the wood. "You should learn to control your anger, old friend. Perhaps you would delay our people's end a bit longer." The old man struggled to finished the blow, but it had been written that the blow would fail, and so it was. "You are a traitor," the man gasped, pulling back from the table, "To your people, who you could save, to your council, who you owe your loyalty. You are a coward who will not even try."

"What you say does not change anything, old friend. I will do as I told you and wait out the end here, in my paradise."

"With your son?" the old man asked looking around but seeing nothing. "Perhaps he will fight if you will not."

"His choices are his own."

The old man spat on the ground. "No, they are not. You hold him tightly to you, just as you did with Eris."

"The woman you killed to try and get me into your pointless war." For the first time there was an edge in his voice.

"She died a hero to her people."

"She died because you put her in the position to do so, because you and the council believed that it would be the final straw. After all, her effort was nothing compared to what I could bring...I think those were your exact words."

The old man paled and his bodyguards fingered their weapons. "I am not as blind as you seem to think I am old friend, but I have no love or hope for our people. Your hand and the others like you have turned them into what they were never supposed to be."

"WE GAVE THEM FREEDOM!"

"You killed our god." his father shrugged. "And when you realised that our god was the only thing holding our home together, you sought to take from others on the world below. This is the field you have sown old friend, I warned you long ago that its fruit would be bitter."

The old man turned and stormed away taking several steps and then stopping. "You think there is anything we will not do for our people?"

"I think you will do what you must to protect yourself." His father replied.

There was a moment of silence. "You will come to the next meeting of the council, otherwise you will be named traitor and believe me when I say, we will have a use for you if that is the case."

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Ichigo stood in the stone hall, though this time he was standing next to the throne upon which the shadow sat. Twin eyes turned to regard him. "Count yourself lucky, my son, there is no other among us who has seen so much of our origin."

"Do I know you?" Ichigo asked.

"Everything you are started with me, I am your beginning and I was to be your end." The eyes began to spin and Ichigo realised that somehow there were more Irises than should be possible in those eyes. "Now I see nothing. Not you, not your effects on what is to be, no future, no past, no present." The eyes stopped spinning. "You come here even though you have no connection to me anymore, I am pleased with you."

"Who are you?"

The the shadow roiled and he caught the slight impression of a smile in its depths. "There is no need for me to tell you. You are no longer a piece on my board, a larger force had taken you as its own. You are now the pawn of a dead god. It should be interesting to see what will happen."

"How does that make any sense?"

"What was that saying?" the shadow mused. "Ah yes, Even dead gods dream, my son, and this one dreams of you."

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Ichigo gasped as his eyes shot open, though he did not rise from his place on his bed. He blinked several times as what he had seen in his dream remained clear as crystal. He lay on his bed by himself staring at his cellphone still where he had lain it the night before. Said night had ended well, at least he hoped. The limo had arrived back at Sona's home, but he had hesitated exiting when Serafall stayed in the limo, apparently needing to be taken somewhere else. Perhaps it had been the night, or his courage was higher than it should have been, but, before he could give himself time to really think about what he was doing, he leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Serafall had looked almost surprised, though perhaps more at the innocent nature of the action. Whatever the case her glowing smile as the door closed would remain a good memory as the door had closed by itself and the limo drove away.

He had turned to Sona and his self preservation instincts were working well enough to let him know he needed to do the same to his King. Her reaction to his peck on the cheek had been more of slight annoyance turning into a luminescent blush. She had sputtered out a few words of thanks and fairly fled to her room, though he felt that it had been the right action.

He had taken a quick shower before he laid down on his bed and the sight of his cell phone had brought up some thoughts he had been avoiding. Listening to the Sitri sisters talk about their family had been a reminder to his own...unresolved issue. He had grabbed his phone and even made to push in the number….then made the mistake of trying to figure out how he was going to tell them. "Hi dad, I'm a devil now!" Did not seem like the best option, "Hey dad, good news! I got my powers back….how? Well, I might or might not have sold myself into service...oh ya, and I am dating said boss." That also seemed to be a bad idea. "Dad….I'm doing great...got my powers back, bye!" That also seemed like a poor option. And so on and so forth it went until he drifted off to sleep.

Now, well, it would not be a good time, after all Karin and Yuzu would be getting ready for school and his dad would be getting ready for work. Chad, Ishida, and Orihime would be sleeping after a day of protecting his home town.

He got dressed and slipped the phone into his pocket. Yes, he would think about this more and call them tonight.

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"Ichigo-san." Said boy glanced down at Issei who had ran up to him as he made his way to the Occult Club House. Today had been...not the best. Tsubasa was irate, though had made an effect not to show him. Sona had not helped matters by blushing every time he got too close, which had gotten her Queen to gently tease her the whole morning. Saji had been giving him the evil eye much to the annoyance of Momo and Ruruko, who Ichigo had noticed made an effort to look more more attractive than they already were. Just by smell alone he could tell and both had spent a good deal of time next to the boy. At least Saji had mentioned that they smelled nice, which Ichigo would guess as a major victory for both of them. Sona had allowed the two to use him to carry items and generally be helpful. It was something he noticed about Saji, that when he was helping his fellow peerage members his bad attitude vanished and he threw himself in one hundred percent. He could be very attentive to the needs of the two when he was focused like that, perhaps that was something that attracted those two, though Ichigo would fully admit he knew very little about Saji outside of school.

He blinked as Issei said his name again dragging him back from this thoughts. "Yes?"

"Is it true?"

"Um," Ichigo said, "Is what true?"

"Did you go on a date with Kaichou and some other mysterious beauty in a china dress?"

How in the world had that gotten back here, they had been in a another town for crying out loud! "Bouchou said that you took them to a fancy restaurant." Oh, that was how.

"It is none of your business." He said, though not unkindly. "That is between me and them"

"So you did," the boy looked at him with an almost worshipful stare, "And they did not even try to kill you."

"..." Ichigo winced. "Issei," he sighed, "Come with me if you have nothing to do, I was going to the Occult House and I don't think anyone is there right now."

"Why?"

"To clean it," he said almost as a second thought, "and….if you have some questions about the date, I will answer them. On the agreement that you answer some of my own as well."

The poor boy looked like he had gotten whiplash at the sudden change of Ichigo's attitude, though he did not question it. They walked the path from the school to the old school building that housed the Occult Club, or more literally the Peerage of Rias Gremory. "So, I guess we trade questions then?" Issei asked as he entered the building. Ichigo grabbed a broom and was surprised when Issei, without being asked, pulled out window cleaner and paper towels from the closet. "Sure."

"And we have to answer with absolute truthfulness."

Ichigo felt like he was going to regret this, "Deal."

"And we don't tell anyone about the conversation."

Oh dear, if Issei's well known lack of self preservation was activating….no, he was committed now. He had been through events where had never spoken of what he had felt or really just talked about it. Issei was now, at the very least, a fellow peerage member and...well, Ichigo had seen in the boy something that he respected. When he had come back to attack Raynare despite knowing, or at least understanding, that it would mean his death. Whatever else he thought of the boy and his proclivities, that was something he would always admire. "Ok." he sighed. At the very least, if the questions went how he thought they would it would be interesting.

The boy smiled as he sprayed the chemicals on the glass and begin the wipe the glass "So did you go on a date with Kaichou and...?"

"Her sister." He answered.

The boy froze for a moment, "Wow," he whispered in awe, "Sisters."

Ichigo let out a breath and swept the floor, letting the boy gawk for a moment before he spoke. "The Incident with Raynare, how are you feeling?"

Issei froze for a moment in his wiping, it was a full thirty seconds before he answered with a forced calm. "We will both tell the truth no matter what?"

"No matter what." Ichigo replied.

"I have nightmares," the boy stated, "Every night since it happened. I see her standing over me, bleeding, insane," he shuddered, "Only about half the time do you stop her before she kills me." Ichigo opened his mouth to ask a follow up but closed it, that was not the rules.

"Of the two, who has the best Oppai?" Issei asked though his voice lacked the full measure of his aroused interest. It was closer to a salve against the questions he now realized that were coming.

"Breasts," he used the proper word, "While a beautiful part of any woman, are not something I rank, sorry."

Issei frowned, but nodded, looking like he had his next question in mind, "How are you feeling about what happened? I know from personal experience traumatic events do things you, to you head. My mother was killed by a monster," he said voice quiet, "She died on top of me, bleeding to death as I begged her to survive. I can tell you for certain that I am still affected by it to this day, that the scars still bleed to this day." He felt it important that the boy knew there could be common ground. That he would not be speaking to someone who could not understand him.

"I'm sorry," Issei whispered no small amount of horror in his voice at Ichigo's admission, "I had not heard."

"It it not something you would hear, monsters are not real after all." Ichigo said in a sarcastic voice.

The boy took some time to collect his thoughts. "I-I don't know, what am I supposed to say? I told my parents that I had a date and they were so happy for me and now they do not remember. My money that I spent is gone and that has not changed, my list of the perfect date is in the trash now, as I clearly failed in that respect." There was a bitterness in his voice. "I thought that, ya know, that I did a good job. That, despite what anyone might think about me, I could be a good boyfriend, that I could show a girl a good time. Yuuma, I mean Raynare seemed so perfect, so pretty, so interested, I thought that I could be something, that this strange girl might just be my first girlfriend. I guess I should have expected something like that."

"No," Ichigo said calmly, "You were targeted by a creature older than your family line for the power you possess. The efforts you show are not a weakness, they are admirable. That bitch did not deserve it, but from what I saw, when you find a girl, I think such a date that you planned will impress anyone."

Issei did not speak for a moment. "You saw my date?"

Ichigo let that question go for free. "I sensed something off about Raynare and I was worried for your safety so I followed you two."

Issei coughed embarrassed. "I did not see you, though given what happened I thank God." he winced as sudden pain showed on his face.

Ichigo frowned. "What's wrong?"

The boy moaned in pain. "You don't know? You can't say...His name, otherwise you get smited."

Ichigo frowned. "God." He said, feeling nothing.

"Ya that…." he tilted his head. "You don't feel anything?"

"Thank God," Ichigo said looking around for anything to happen, "God, God, God." He said, then shrugged. "Nothing."

"Well, that does not seem fair." Issei grumbled. "My turn now, If you don't rate Oppai then what about butts?"

Ichigo's mouth twitched and he turned away to sweep a corner he might, or might not, have already cleaned. He forced himself to be truthful. "When I consider such thoughts," he left it implied that it was not often, "I will admit that I do." He finished, feeling red touch his face, realizing with a sudden shock that, on a conscious level, he had never thought of or at least never allowed himself to realize that he had done such things. Well, at least he was learning. "Any lingering injuries from the attack?"

"No," this time Issei answered immediately, "I looked and no scars, no nothing. Bouchu says she helped the healing process along, but I don't know when or where she did that." Well that was good, no physical scars would help with the reminders of the event.

"So which one of the two has the best butt." He sounded gleeful at finding a truly uncomfortable question for the boy who seemed to strong and imposing.

When Ichigo answered, it felt like he was pulling teeth to speak such words aloud to anyone. He had never, ever thought he would say anything on such a subject to anyone. "Serafall." He said, using her full name, as if it somehow made him less of a creep for thinking such a thing.

"Hmm?" Issei did not seem to recognize the name.

"Sona's sister."

"Ohh…?" Issei drew the words out somehow putting a leer into them.

"Tell anyone I and I will kill you." Ichigo said calmly.

"I know." Issei replied sounding amused at the thought.

"What will you do, if you take another girl on a date, what do you think will change?"

The mood shifted down quite a few notches. "I don't know if anyone will really want a date with me." Issei sighed. "I used to think about it often, but after what happened it feels terrifying." His breathing became more shallow. "My chest tightens, it get hard to breath," he shook his head, "I don't want to think about that."

Oh dear, Ichigo could remember how even a mention of his mother was enough to elicit pure rage from him. With the exception of his sisters and father anyone who so much as spoke of her sent fire through his gut, blazing through his mind. Childhood bullies had used that until they realized that the weak boy they had known, died alongside his mother and what had been born from the ashes scared them.

Issei seemed to have a different reaction to the trama, a fear of history repeating itself. One quite understandable, now that he lived in a different world. He, like Ichigo, had very little context for what they could expect from a world of Devils and Angels. Ichigo himself only had better context in the sense that he had been thrown into a world of monsters one time before.

"Have you ever seen a real naked woman?"

Ichigo made a face and coughed as memories of Yoruichi, his teacher of the flash step and part of his Bankai, standing in that hot spring, body exposed. No more than that floated before his wide eyes...he did not count Sona's flash as that had not been intentional...and she was not a woman yet. "Once….though she was just messing with me and not interested in doing anything." Not that he would have done anything, had she offered. The phrase 'stick up his ass' would be a good way he would describe himself back then.

"It not fair," Issei sighed, "You seem to have done everything."

"What is your power?" Ichigo asked curious.

Issei frowned. "I have a Sacred Gear, or so I have been told." He made a frustrated motion. "But I have not been able to do anything, no power no nothing."

Ichigo put the broom back and closed his eyes for a moment. Issei was not someone he would call spiritually strong. There was no strong flare of soul, but some demon power flowing through him, very much unlike Ichigo himself. For his own part the devil power in him was like a small pinpoint of light. The power of his soul was so overwhelming that this new power born in him was crushed by it, his spiritual power holding the new power in place by sheer pressure like a piece of coal in the earth.

But there was something in Issei that was different, it was odd. A burning green power that was like a fire. A fire that looked small but when he focused on it there was a sensation of depth, as if he fell into that fire it was horribly deeper than it should have been. Then, as he felt into that depth, something noticed him, something vast looked back at him, senseing him as he sensed it. Ichigo jerked his senses back and let out a breath. Issei was staring at him, brow furrowed in confusion. "You do have a power." Ichigo said. "I can sense it." He made a decision then. "Let's finish cleaning." He would need to talk to Rias about making some time to see if he could try his hand at being a teacher...it could be fun, or at least rewarding, if his experiences with his own teachers was anything to go by.

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"I have a few questions." Ichigo said, as Rias took a seat at her desk. He and Issei had gotten the place clean before she had returned with Akeno, Kiba and Koneko in tow.

His other King glanced at him, her eyes sparkling in amusement. Ichigo sat on a couch while Kiba and Issei sat across from him. Issei was not looking at him, though it was clear, by the set of his shoulders, he had a bit of envy. Ichigo almost tilted his head down, but stopped before he pressed his nose into white hair. Koneko had entered the room and without looking at him had taken a seat in his lap. Her back was stiff through and he could practically feel her annoyance and mercifully no one had mentioned the date, which he felt would have worsened her mood. Though, given that she was annoyed, perhaps it was a good thing she wanted to be...on him. Gods that sounded bad.

Perhaps it would be good, then, that he was to help her with a contract. Speaking of which "What happens during a contract, what do we get out of it?"

That got a smile from Rias. "That Is a good question." she put her elbows on the table her hands clasped, chin resting on the fingers. "The answer is several fold, on the surface level there is normally an exchange of money or favors, or items, physical items and the like. Secondly there is a degree of prestige at making deals, the bigger and more numerous the better. Thirdly completing contracts will, in a very minor way, cause your devil power to grow. Individually, each contract will not help much, but over time it adds up. Granted, larger deals with more powerful creatures grant you more of this boost."

That was interesting, but it begged a new question to be answered. "Is there any limit to what contracts can be done? Do we have to accept any contract?" His voice told them all what he thought of that.

"My Peerage is a law abiding one, so all questions on major crimes or assassinations need to go through me first." Ichigo blinked as Rias managed to keep her face straight for a few seconds before snorting a little. "No, we do not do that, though I will not say other Peerages do not do that, but it is against the laws set in place. We are not supposed to mess with human society too much. Unless given permission, no devil is supposed to deal with powerful humans, though in practice that is hard to fully regulate such things, as all devils make contracts." She sighed and looked at him. "For my part, I do not want any of you to do anything too illegal and if you have any questions, run them by me. You are also free to say no to any contract you are not comfortable with."

"What do you mean by 'too illegal'?"

"Well Kiba once cut his way through a warehouse of men to save a child that had been taken. Several died of their wounds and most lost something. Such an act was illegal, but I had no issue with it." Ichigo glanced at the boy whose expression never changed at the words.

"I see."

Rias nodded. "If you have any other questions relating to devils feel free to ask."

Ichigo nodded. "Are there any places for this peerage that we can go to train without the chance that some random person will see us? Sona has her home which is remote enough and has enough land but I have not see anything for this group."

Rias sighed "I do have land about a dozen miles away from the city where such actions can be taken." She gestured to the teleportation circle behind her. "I can show you the key to the location."

"Useful." Ichigo said.

"Um," Issei said, raising his hand, "What if they ask for something we cannot deliver."

"Well, my Issei, you have to be clever. For example Sona was once tasked to save the life of a person who was dying. Since she did not have any direct way to heal the client she went and got him the liver transplant he required. It took longer, but it did save his life and she did complete her contract." The boy blushed at being called hers and seemed to lose track and any other questions.

Ichigo was fine with that as he had another. "You mentioned that Koneko and I will be doing a contract together, given that you mentioned it could require two of us I assume you know what it is?"

"Oh," she said with a sigh, "Yes, given your combat talent, I feel you will compliment each other. There seems to be a possible monster issue. From what I understand a family may or my not be under a curse." She paused. "Now, this could be complicated if it turns out to be a Youkai as they are their own supernatural faction, however I have gone through the proper channels and the governing body of that faction says they have no outstanding vendetta."

"So, my people's mythical monsters have their own government?"

Rias nodded. "Thankfully that should not matter as of right now, you and Koneko are the ones I want to deal with it because it seems to be a physical threat. If it had been spiritual or ghostly Akeno would have been the one." Ichigo wondered what spiritual threat meant in this world of devils and angels, but did not want to try and fit anything more into his head today. Rias glanced at him and stared for a moment then giggled slightly. "How did you know Koneko loves back scratches?"

Ichigo looked down at the girl in his lap, she had arched her back slightly, eyes closed, body relaxed, her expression was one of pure bliss. He looked further down and realized that he had started gently running his fingers across her back, just enough to scratch so to speak. That was odd, as he could not remember decided to do that, just him noticing changed the pace from up and down to a circling motion. It was kind of fascinating to see this girl almost melt in his lap just by such a simple action. The old him might have stopped, but given that she was not making any sexual sounds, it was over the clothing and he was not in any danger of arousal...at least any more than having a very cute girl in his lap, Ichigo decided to continue.

"Well," he said, "It's healthier than candy." That got a chuckle of Kiba who had been mostly silent up to this point.

"I got to talk with Tomoe today, she had some high praise for your work with a blade. I was wondering if I could steal some of your time for a match, a real match." Kiba directed at the scratching teen.

"Not today I'm afraid, I got some work for the student council in about an hour and Tsubasa wants to play a game of basketball or four afterward. Beyond that, I plan for a relaxing walk home without the threat of imminent death, though tomorrow would work. I wanted to take Issei out to that training area Rias mentioned."

"What?" Issei said, which made sense at it was news to the boy.

"Really?" Rias asked curious.

"I was going to see if I could help draw out his power, see if the method used on me would work on him."

"Wait, what training?" Issei said.

"Already helping your fellow peerage, I am pleased." Rias said.

"Thank you, but if you want to come Kiba, after I am finished with him we can have a go."

"I would like that." Kiba grinned.

"Do I get a say in this?" Issei asked

"Do you want to die again?" Koneko asked eyes still closed, she had stiffed at his mention of Tsubasa but he had increased his scratching speed and that seemed to placate her.

"No." Issei said sudden sweat appearing.

"Then you should be grateful, as you never know when a little training will save your life."

"I guess but I had some..plans." He trailed off.

"That magazine your friends think they have hidden under the junk in your locker is gone and Motohama's drilling equipment had been destroyed by me." Ichigo said without looking at him.

"Oh," Issei looked crestfallen, "I'll bet you did not even look at it."

"Nope." Ichigo said with a shake of his head.

"The worst." Koneko mumbled through a growl of pleasure, Kiba shook his head and looked at his peerage mate with amusement. "By the way," Koneko muttered, "I'm going too." Ichigo accepted that fact easily and moved on.

"Well now that that is settled," he glanced at the clock, "I think I need to be going in a few minutes, Sona hates when one is late." Every single person there nodded in acceptance, even Koneko.

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"So you offered to spar with Kiba-san, that's not….I wanted to spar with you." Tomoe pouted at Ichigo, who was busy filing papers. Sona had been curious at where he had gone and why, to which he had said he wanted to talk with Issei, and beyond that to get some information about the devil world. She had been slightly put out he had not come to her, but accepted it based on the fact that it was Rias sending him on a contract.

"Ya," Tsubasa grouched, "What are we, chopped liver?"

"Day after next is open, I can train with people then, if they want?" Ichigo said with a not so slight hint of exploration.

Tomoe hopped on one foot in excitement. "That sounds like fun, Reya you can come to and show Ichigo what is like to face a Bishop."

"If that is the case," Tsubaki mused, "Perhaps I should have a go, given I'm a Queen and perhaps you should have a go as well Kaichou. You know, so we can gauge your new Rook's power?"

Sona shook her head. "I will be there because I want to see what kind of Training methods you say that were used on you, but I feel that a match against me would be...pointless." She said it in such a matter a fact way that Ichigo did not feel any anger, just a bit of amusement which he kept to himself. Even with how powerful he sensed her to be, she did not seem to have the full measure of it, and even if she did, he believed he could win. She might force him into Bankai, given that he did not know how she fought, but that would be the extent and even then he thought he had a good chance of defeating her in Shikai. That thought brought up a question in his head, as Zangetsu was still silent ever since his odd words, he wondered if his Shikai had changed as much as he sealed form. Would it still be the same as before, once his power was unleashed it could not be sealed again. Or did his changed sealed form herald a difference in how his power could be used.

"Well, I don't want to train with him." Saji muttered.

Sona flicked him a concerned look that he missed. "Well," Tsubaki said smoothly, "You can stay behind if you wish, there is always more to do."

"I'll help!" Nimura said with smile.

Not to be outdone Momo offered her help too. Saji's mood lifted a little. "Thanks," He sighed and shook his head making a visible effort to reign in his mood, "But if you two want to go..."

"Nonsense," Momo said, "We would not leave our cute little pawn all by himself."

"Right." Nimura said.

The blunt statement seemed to go in Saji's ear and out the other, as he did not even blink at the rather forward remark. Ichigo resisted the urge to sigh, as he had just learned recently how dense he was as a person, so he would not harp on that in others...as much as he could help it. His inaction did not stop the rest of the room from a collective sigh that got the boy looking up at all of them, confusion written on his face.

Ichigo went back to his work as other thoughts flickered through his head. Sona's thoughts on her own strength seemed interesting, even with his story about his achievements notwithstanding. Granted, he had been deliberately circumspect with his story, but he did not think Serafall would be as confident, though with that girl...well he was not sure what would happen if they came to blows. She was more powerful than him, the depth of her strength was such that it humbled him. He did not have access to the Final Getsuga Tenshou or the power that came with it, so it would be like the old days if he came to blows with a creature such as Serafall Leviathan. A fight to the death with only his skill, determination and ability to grow as the path to victory.

Ichigo paused for a moment to consider what he had just thought about, and felt more than a little joy at it. Not at the thought of a death battle, but that he could think in such a way, that he had the power to do so again.

"We still on for basketball?" Ichigo looked up at Tsubasa as she leaned on her palms looking down at him. He had to lower his eyes before he spent too much time admiring how her uniform fit her perfectly.

"Yes, I told you we would." The girl stared at him for a few more moments before nodding and looked a little relieved. Ichigo gave her a smile and looked back down at the papers he was signing. "Anyone got any updates on the Computer club?"

"We check on them every other week." Sona replied from her desk, she herself was doing paperwork and did not bother to look up. "We know what they are doing on their school computers, home computers, and cellphones. Mia suffered some brain damage from the mindwipe, not enough to hobble her, but it has stunted her magical gift of charisma." Sona sighed. "A tragic waste of what could have been a fine gift, but given her tendencies I would say it is for the best. We, of course, are still making sure the murderous tendency you described was part of the corrupting power of the item she had and not something innate."

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks," another thought occurred to him as he thought about it, "May I ask another question?"

Sona nodded from her desk. "Of course."

"What is a Maou and what do they do?"

Across the room Reya's eyes brightened "Ohh, may I answer this Kaichou?" her expression was on of a girl extremely happy to user he knowledge. Sona looked at her and her lips quirked up and she nodded looking like a proud teacher.

Reya looked radiant. "First, a quick history lesson." she said "The Maou are the current leaders of the Underworld. They are the winners of the Devil Civil War, which occurred after the four original maou Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus died as a result of the Great war with Heaven and the Grigori before that. Their direct descendants attempted to seize control of devilkind and, if they had gotten their way, they were planning on pressing their own, perceived, advantage in the Great War and simply trying to eliminate the other two factions." Reya frowned then. "There was also talk of world domination, but I find that doubtful as literally any other Mythological Faction could have smashed any single part of the splintered Biblical Faction. Only the fact that the leader of Heaven, God survived the war and the fact that any attempt to attack one of the Biblical Factions would get the other two involved, kept our pantheon from ending there," she paused, "Or at least that is my interpretation."

She looked over to Sona who nodded. "It will suffice."

Reya, relieved to see agreement, continued. "Several of the emerging powers in the war, people who were tired of it and also thought it suicidal to attempt anything like the Old Maou faction was planning decided enough was enough." She shook her head. "The accounts are that the four current Maou, Sirzech-Sama, Serafall-Sama, Ajkuka-Sama, and Falbium-Sama almost single handedly won the war." She again looked at Sona.

"Not quite the truth. While they were the ones who brought the raw power needed to face the leaders of the old Maou, Falbium and Sirzech gathered together a decent force and," Sona's face flickered through a look of pride, "Their rallying point, the original Leviathan who survived the war, died at the hands of the one who would become the new Leviathan. He was the one who led the army and when Serafall-Sama killed him it ended the organised fighting and the Old Satan Faction was splintered and hunted down." Ichigo frowned at her addon to her sister's name, he had a feeling Levi-tan did not like her baby sister saying anything but Onee. Still if she had done that, he would have to ask her the story, though he would be fully prepared to answer with one of his own.

"Thank you Kaichou, the records were spotty on that, however to make a long story short they pretty much rebuilt the underworld from the ground up, each of the four taking on an area of responsibility. Serafall-Sama as the leader of Foreign affairs, Sirzech-Sama in control of domestic, Ajkuka-sama heading research and development including the creation of the Evil Pieces, and Falbium-sama as head of the underworld military." Reya nodded. "Was that satisfactory?"

Ichigo nodded. "That is a lot to take in." he smiled. "I can see why Levi-tan likes to get away." there was a silence after his statement. Hell, if he guessed right it was almost sacrilegious to call her that, but if she wanted it she got it and that was that.

Sona looked very uncomfortable, but did not say anything save for a meaningful look at the rest of her peerage. The look said 'It's too late for me to tell him to stop, but none of you are to do anything similar.' or at least that is what Ichigo Kurosaki read from the look. He shook his head and smiled at his paperwork, suppressing a slight laugh. It was in that moment he realized how much Levi-tan had grown on him in the short time he had known her, beyond her amazing body and her intense power, as a lovey and determined women who was not afraid to laugh at or poke fun at herself. That realization deepened his respect for her though he did wonder what she saw in a boy like him, his war...experience had been a couple weeks, whereas she had been fighting for almost three hundred years. Hell with what he knew of devil ages was that like sending a teenager to war? On that cheery thought, he turned his mind back to finishing the work he had been assigned, he really needed to get this done.

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When Ichigo stepped out of the locker room, freshly showered and dressed in his gym clothing, he was ready for a good round of basketball. Only this time he had the ability to actually win which felt good. He paused as he got a look at Tsubasa. Gone was her yoga pants and grey sleeveless spandex shirt, which up until now had been her go-to basketball outfit. It had looked good on her and he had enjoyed the view, even if he made it a point not to stare. He felt his heart beat an odd rhythm for a moment, which annoyed him to no end, as he saw what she was wearing now. She had gone with the Kuoh Academy standard gym uniform, starting with a white tee shirt which was tight enough to emphasize that she, like many girls at this school, had a very well developed chest. That was not what caused him to start, he knew that already, it was actually an improvement in modesty over the other skin tight shirt. No, what brought him up short was that the yoga pants had been replaced with….bloomers. Oh, he hated those pieces of cloth with a passion, the damn things were far too immodest for an impressionable teen who had been as affected by puberty as another.

The thinking part of his brain called up an interesting comment a psyc course teacher had made, that things that trigger arousal early in puberty could stick around even after he finished that stage of development. That such triggers had been, in some studies, traced to what both men and women found attractive or were turn ons. Not that this set in stone what a person's mind would be like, just that certain exposures might have an effect on the mind.

Kurosaki Ichigo of course did not have such a reaction to the small blue pieces of fabric, nope, not in the slightest….he had also never been the best liar, even to himself. "Well." he coughed, recovering. It was not like they were unknown at his first school and he had dealt with them then. It was just that he knew this girl was interested in him or at least thought him worth a look over. This same girl was also a devil and knew that some others might feel the same, hell he had gone on a date with two of them and Koneko had dropped subtlety all together, making her position clear.

It was not a spot Ichigo Kurosaki expected to be in, this sort of stuff happened on tv or in light novels. What stuck him as odd was that there seemed to be no real animosity between anyone of the girls he noticed, beyond taking up time with him or jumping too far ahead. Tsubaki's words ran through his head unbidden about how many devils apparently had not trouble with...situations like these.

Unfortunately for this newly born devil, beyond the fact that he was missing what he felt would be the normal urge to quell this situation, he had no idea what he was doing or what to do at all...for Kami's sake, he was a virgin who, until recently, had never been on a date or even thought about having one girlfriend. Plus, he was still mostly sure that, despite whatever Tsubaki said, Koneko, Sona, Tsubaki, and all the rest seemed more human than people would think devils would have. Serafall...well, she was different. Older, had been through hardship, pain, loss, she was Levi-tan to him, the pet name meaning more to him than he liked to admit. His instinct told him quite clearly that she would have absolutely no problem, that she was more of the live and let love kind of person….because you never knew when it all could be taken away.

Wow, his mind had been wandering as he had zoned out and realised, quite suddenly, he had not raised his eyes from the girl across from him, who seemed to glow with his attention. Her face split in a grin as she gently pirouetted, giving his wandering gaze an eyeful of how well fitting the blue fabric was on her backside, a fact that Issei's questions earlier today made him want to cringe or just stare a little bit longer. Thankfully, for his sense of self image, his desire to see these fellow devils as people first won out….about twenty seconds later than when it would have been helpful.

"Well," he said, forcing his eyes to her face, his voice a little higher than it should have been, "What happened to your other clothing?"

Tsubasa looked immensely pleased with herself. "Left them in the wash." she said with a wave of her hand. "Had to grab the normal gear, sorry if it's not as eye catching." Her hands set themselves on her hips, which tilted in such a way that caused his traitorous eyes to snap down. "Perhaps I should be a little careful with clothing like that," she kept her eyes locked on his as he drew them back up, "Never know when Kaichou will decide that such a break in decorum requires me to go over her knees, if you know what I mean."

Ichigo took a step back from her, which only seemed to amuse Tsubasa more. "Well, that's two of your interests, I suppose that will do for today." With her foot she kicked the basketball up to her hand. "Ready to play ball?"

Good lord, he had never felt more embarrassed in his entire life and that included his dad's attempt at a solo, in-depth, birds and bees talk. More embarrassed than when Yoruichi Shihōin had paraded naked in front of him just to see his reaction. Perhaps it was a measure of revenge he sought as he proceeded to absolutely crush her, flash step being an completely unfair advantage which, united with his ability to keep up with her, his new toughness and restored superhuman reflexes, made for a one-sided slaughter.

That did not seem to bother the normally competitive Tsubasa in the slightest, much to his annoyance. It also did not seem to dampen his mind pointing out how attractive she looked covered in sweat and laughing. Those were the images he would have liked to have his mind filled with, but it seemed her ass was going to stay there too, for longer than he was comfortable.

The game ended with her laugh as she collapsed on the floor next to her backpack. Ichigo glanced at the clock and realised, to his shock, they had gone at it non-stop for over two and a half hours. "You win, you win." she gasped out, half laughing. Ichigo looked away before he could linger on sweat drenched body.

He was breathing hard too, though he felt he could have gone on for a great deal longer. Stopping did let his body realize that it had indeed been used hard. He let himself drop to the ground beside his opponent. "Maou," Tsubasa cursed, "Did you have to make that hard of a point?" Ichigo blinked at her. "224 to 84," she said, "My pride hurts as much as my lungs."

"Good." he said.

She giggled again. "Come on Ichigo, you can't possibly consider that revenge, you gave me exactly what I wanted."

"You wanted to get smashed into the earth?"

"I wanted to see you at your best." she countered her breathing coming back under control as her devil biology restored her stamina much faster than any normal human could hope to match. "And get to know your interests." she smiled. "I guess I should apologize to you though, I might have pushed things a bit far."

"You think?"

Tsubasa's grin faded and she leaned back against the wall "Sorry," she said, this time he could hear her meaning, "I was just...frustrated."

"Why?" he asked.

She looked at him and let out a sigh. "I am reminding myself not to act like Momo and Ruruko and let a little thing like denseness stop me."

"I am dense," Ichigo agreed, "but not that that dense."

"True, that boy is as dense as a neutron star, you're just a wall of stone." Ichigo did not say anything to that waiting to see what she would do. "You went on a date with Kaichou and her sister, you are going on an outing with Koneko and before you say it's work, that does not matter." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "The only thing we do is shoot some hoops once in a while." Slowly his brain forced his way through what she was saying. "Is this...all you want to do?" she asked.

Oh...he got it, he knew, now, that this would be a great time to gently let down a girl who seemed to be interested in him. That would have been logical, would have been reasonable. Sure some devil's did the harem thing, but he doubted still that he would end up like that. But reason and logic were not the only things in his brain talking, there was the simple fact that he liked her. He enjoyed spending time with her, something that she shared with the others who might have an interest in him. She was direct, funny, and physical in a way that was different from her other peerage members. She was lovely, they all were, but there was more to it. Even in the short months he had been here, they had become his friends and...well, damn it, dating multiple people was a human thing, so long as you stopped when you started a relationship with one of them. Now, he did not know what would happen in his case, but… "Given that you know everything that is going on with me, who has interest and what that means," he said, "Would you like to get something to eat with me tomorrow?"

Her face lit up, her head snapping over to him. "Really?"

"Yes," he said, "I don't mind the thought at all."

She punched him in the shoulder lightly. "You should have said so earlier, I would not have had to go through that."

"Dense as stone remember?" he said then his voice became serious. "In the future if you want something from me you need to be direct, I might not notice otherwise."

"Ok," she said relief clear in her face, "That sounds like fun."

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The last time Ichigo had been by himself walking home he had made a detour that changed his life, he did not expect such an event to happen again...at least in so short a time. Still he kept his senses open, just in case. Kouh was a quiet town when it wanted to be and it gave him time to think as to where the hell he was going to take a girl like Tsubusa on a date.

It felt good to walk around like this, alert for danger, ready to move if strength was needed. Knowing that he could do so once again, if needed, was such a comfort that he did not want to think what it was like to live without it again. No doubt that was an unhealthy state of mind, but he had to take what he could get.

His spiritual sense drifted around him, if he really focused it would let him sense all souls across the city and further, as it was he was only really sure about the people around him within four blocks. Should any hollow show up he would know, as their power stood out like a sore thumb most of the time, especially in an area with as low a level of spiritual power as this.

One thing that surprised him was how much devil power was simply floating around this city, Sona, Rias, Serafall, even if the latter only showed up occasionally. Those three had so much power that it permeated the entire city and Sona and Rias were not using all that power. If he was right, they had so much more power than they each realized.

He slowed his walk, frowning, as a burst of power flashed across his senses. It was different and when he closed his eyes and let his sense follow the oddness it ended within a human soul. It was a green flame at her core, glowing with a soft heat and it was not a soul he recognized. He reached out and grasped the green ribbon that was the soul thread, which was a contrast to the white of the normal humans and his...hmm his soul thread was not red anymore, or at least not all at once, it was an color that seemed to shift every time he looked at it, blue, red, black red, yellow. He decided to put that aside for the moment and used a flash step to follow the thread. He appeared between what looked like an apartment building and a convenience store.

The place was shadowed enough that, if he had not been a devil, it would have been hard to see. There was some trash and a dumpster, but it was still a relatively clean alleyway. He followed the thread to a box that had been laid on its side, a pair of dirty shoes and legs stuck out of one side and as he walked forward there was a growling sound. Ichigo recognized the sound for what it was, even if he had tensed for a moment, the sound of an empty stomach. The sound was followed by a slight whimper and the legs were pulled into the box. Ichigo frowned, it was a little chill tonight, so he walked over to the box. Whoever was in there heard him coming and shifted, a figure in dirty teal dress pulled herself out of the box. Her face was a little smudged and her long blond hair looked like it had not seen water in many days. She looked at him with what looked like her attempt at a brave smile. "H-hello," she said bowing slightly. Ichigo blinked, tilting his head looking at the girl. She had deep green eyes that looked fatigued and she swayed on her feet enough so that it had him worried. "Are you the owner?" she pointed a shaking hand at the store, not waiting for his answer. "Don't worry I will leave, I won't cause trouble." her voice was small and as she turned, the motion seemed to be to much for her as she lost her balance.

It must have surprised her when she fell into his arms, the moment she had started to fall he had moved and stood with the girl in his arms, the way her dress flattened against her stomach he could see the outlines of ribs. Her wide green eyes blinked up at him confused, dizzy with her near faint "S-sorry." she whispered.

"Shh," Ichigo held her close to him as every big brother sense in his entire body went off like a fire alarm. "Don't worry." That might not have been the best thing for him to say, a scary looking man holding a malnourished girl who had clearly been starving.

As it turned out it mattered little, he was warm and she was cold, her body curled into him and her eyes blinked a few times as she fainted for real. Ichigo turned, he was closer to the school than he was to Sona's and he knew the Occult Club had food stored away. Given that no one was around to see him he tensed and vanished, leaping skyward a blur of movement into the gathering darkness.

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 **I know there was mostly talking but Ichigo is leaning more about the world both in his time and...someone elses (Dun-dun-da) but anything the former nun has shown up again, I wounder what happened to her to leave her in that state? And what will Ichigo chose for a date? Questions, questions and hopefully answers in the next chapter.**

 **Quick question I wanted to answer, I mentioned that when Ichigo fought Sona's peerage that they were holding back, well you can bet the farm that Ichigo was too. As for his place in the order of power well that will become cleaner in the story, plus remember what makes him so terrifying. Ichigo Kurosaki has a terrifying growth rate. Now we will have to see if that applies to devil power wont we?**

 **Anyway have a good day.**


	14. Chapter 13

New chapter, once again thanks to Aroneden for his beta reading I hope you all enjoy.

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"You know Ichigo, at least four girls that I know of would be fuming or at least concerned right?" Rias Gremory stood in the doorway looking at him with an unconscious girl in his arms. Behind her Akeno who as far as Ichigo knew was never far away from her King covered her mouth with her hand.

Ichigo looked at her eyes narrowed and Rias sighed "Sorry but could you please tell me why I should let what is clearly a nun of the church into my sanctum."

That...that was good point not that he had noticed such was a nun until Rias had pointed it out, sue him he had never seen one in person. He turned and tensed ready for a flash step "What are you doing"

"Going to Sona's" he said.

That got a flash if irritation from his King "Damn it Ichigo it is a valid question"

"It is, but I do not have time for it." His voice was like immovable stone "I am going to help her."

He did not know why her eyes flashed with fury as he said that "Bring her in" Rias said with a half growl.

Ichigo nodded and moved past her noting that Akeno had put her hand to her forehead and gave him an annoyed look, he did not care at the moment. He placed the girl on the couch head on a pillow "Do we have any more of that plain yogurt?"

"Yes" Rias replied tersely.

Ichigo nodded "Good if I could get one of those, I will pay for it later"

Rias let out a breath through her nose "I am a multimillionaire by virtue of the fact of who my family is….I can absorb the cost of a cup of yogurt."

"Thank you" Ichigo said mind already elsewhere.

Akeno reached Rias before the girl could speak again and whispered something in her ear, Ichigo ignored it as he went and got water "one to two days feet them normal food" he said to himself "three to four food that will help replenish what they have lost, yogurt will work through a broth would be better but we don't have it here." The girls listened to him muttering to himself "Five or more there could be permanent organ damage, I'll have to see If i can get Orihime here if it seemed like it is going to be a problem." Both girls glanced at each other confused, who the hell was Orihime and why would she be able to help?

There was a groaning sound from the couch and Ichigo simply appeared at it edge only by virtue of the high class and powerful devils that they were did either girl catch a glimpse of the speed he had moved at.

The girl blinked several times and let out a groan as a sound emitted from her stomach "Where am I?"

"A place where you can be helped. Please listen to me, I have worked in a clinic for several years and you need to follow my instructions." Ichigo said very gently. "Can you sit up? We need to get some water into you." It was clear to everyone that the girl was out of it as she complied with Ichigo's gentle assistance, it was sort of cute, as Rias and Akeno watched, just how gentle he could be. The water was room temperature and went down easy and was followed by small spoonfuls of almost tasteless yogurt. The girl did not eat quickly, or very much, but the several mouthfuls she did get down did wonders for her.

Lovely green eyes became clear and blinked several times, Ichigo moved back several steps as she seemed to focus again. Her tongue flicked over her lips to get that last of the yogurt as the looked at the three people in the room. To her credit she did not freak out. "Um," she took on a nervous look, "Hello?"

"Hello." Ichigo replied in a soothing voice.

Akeno smiled at her. "A pleasure to meet you Ms...?"

"Asia," The girl replied, "Asia Argento."

"Well it is a pleasure, Asia-San."

The girl made a sound of agreement. "How did I get here?" she asked.

"I found you in that alley." Ichigo replied "You collapsed, from hunger unless I miss my guess."

"Oh," she glanced at the half full yogurt carton, "I'm sorry for the trouble."

"No, no trouble." Rias said though she gave Ichigo a sidelong glare.

Ichigo ignored it like a pro. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she put her hand on her belly, "It's been more than a week since I had something to eat, the train here did not have anything on it and…." she looked away rubbing her eyes on her sleeve.

"You came here on a train?" Akeno asked. "The nearest station is five miles from town!"

Asia nodded "It was long walk, but I did it." She sounded a little proud of that fact.

"So you came to town, was someone supposed to get you?"

"Yes," her voice sounded very small as she reached up her hand to brush across her cross, "There was supposed to be a group that was going to take me in, despite what I am."

There was a pause "What you are?" Ichigo asked.

"A Heretic, someone excommunicated by the Church."

That got Rias's attention, both Ichigo and Akeno could see it even if the girl missed it. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it please." she whispered.

"So someone was supposed to get you?"

"One of my mentors in the Church told me he called in some favors and that he knew a group who would take me in and let me continue my work."

"Did he tell you who?"

"No," she shook her head, "He did not give me name, just a place to go and when I found my way there, I waited and waited. Someone finally came but," she shuddered, "He was a bad person, I don't think he was really telling the truth." Her hands went around her body as if to shield her. "He wanted to do things that were not proper for a priest and the way he talked I...I ran away before he could get me alone." A surge of anger passed through Ichigo at the words, this was not the whole story, he could tell, he could hear it in her voice, but it was not his place to go and pick it out. "He told me the group I was supposed to go to had disbanded after their leader was killed that he had stayed out of the kindness of his heart. That was another lie, I think."

"No doubt." Akeno said her voiced hard.

"I was hiding for the most part, because he was looking for me. I could not even beg because," she pulled at her blonde, dirty hair, "I was too noticeable." She shuddered again. "I did not want him to find me."

"Well, he will not find you here." Akeno said.

Rias glanced at her surprised. "How can you be sure?" the girl whispered.

"Because you are currently on an exclusive school campus. We have cameras, security, and Ichigo got you here in a very short time. I doubt anyone besides us know you are here."

"But, I won't be able to stay here, I don't have any money or anything I'm willing to trade." Her hand moved to cover her chest protectively.

"Bouchou?" Akeno said looking at her king. "If you are willing, I will stay with her and take care of her until she can get back on her feet."

"Of...course," Rias said, "So long as you know what that entails."

"I do." She turned back to Asia. "There it is settled."

The girl looked lost at the sudden show of charity, she glanced out the window where she could see the school. "Are you sure?"

The older girl went over to Asia and put her hand on her shoulder. "I know what it is like to be kicked out by your family. I will not, for even a moment, do nothing when I see someone in the same place as I was." She looked back at Rias "Just as you did for me."

The redhead blushed, which deeped at Ichigo's approving look. "It was nothing." She muttered.

Asia looked between the three of them tears welling in her eyes. "Thank you." she whispered, her eyes drifted upward. "Thank you God."There was an odd sensation that went through Ichigo as she said those words, a brief feeling that rippled out from his soul. It was only there for a moment and gone before he could decide what the feeling meant. "I, I will do my best to pay you back." She told Rias, face trying to look firm, but looking more like a puppy eager to please.

"I think I can live with that." The look in her eyes was one Ichigo recognized her giving Issei, and he wondered if she could identify what sacred gear Asia had or if a person with a gear was always worth a look at for reincarnation. He made a note to keep an eye on his King to make sure there was no pressure or at least as little pressure as possible being applied to this girl.

"Um, so," Asia looked embarrassed, "What are your names?"

"I am Akeno Himejima." The older girl said with a little bow.

"Rias Gremory."

"Ichigo Kurosaki." he said.

She looked down at the Yogurt and bit her lip. "Eat." Rias said. "I have more."

"Eat slowly," Ichigo said, "let your body adjust to eating again, if you eat too fast it will hurt, I promise."

"I know." she said with sad smile. "I have gone hungry before."

"Ah." He really did not know what to say to that besides the sensation that he wanted to kill whoever had caused anything to happen to this girl, really badly.

They all watched as she finished the yogurt cup savoring every drop. "How long were you with the Church?" Ichigo asked feeling the need to say something and also kind of curious.

"It was my whole life." she said not looking at them. "I was raised by the church, left as a baby at the steps, they taught me how to live, how to use my gifts, to make people happy, to love God." That last word brought another odd surge in Ichigo's chest, a stirring of something, but what?

"Then, you make a mistake and they throw you away." Her voice cracked and she rubbed her dirty arm across her eyes smearing dirt and grime.

Anger, but not his anger, Ichigo was sure of that, flooded up within him, followed by a deep sadness as endless as the void of space. All of this happened in a brief moment and was somehow apart from him as if he was not really the one experiencing it. "Well," he said, deciding he would need to speak to Zangetsu later about what the hell that was about, "Then they don't deserve you."

He said the words gently keeping the pure venom that was very much his own thoughts on the matter out of his voice. "And I thank whoever was responsible that I was able to meet and help you."

She looked up at him, green eyes moist. "I had wondered if I had lost God's Love, with all that was happening to me."

" _No, you did not. You could not, it is not how that Love works. It was and is a gift, given freely and no one can take that from you._ " Ichigo said, or rather it came out of his mouth. He did not know where the words came from or why he had said them. Asia trembled for a moment the words and then flung herself across the table wrapping her arms around him and sobbing into his chest repeating the words thank you over and over again.

Both Rias and Akeno looked at him with surprise and confusion, Ichigo gave them a similar look and mouthed, 'I don't know where that came from.' The girls glanced at each other concerned and Akeno mouthed back, 'Makes sense, that did not sound like you.'

Ichigo closed his eyes, now really worried about what was going on in his soul, but as of right now he had a job to do. He had been an older brother long enough to know when someone needed a hug. And even if this was his only school uniform, he would live. Ever so gently he put his arms around Asia waiting as she got it all out of her system.

It only took about a minute before the girl sort of spent herself in that effort, Akeno had been waiting and moved over simply picking the girl up as she panted in emotional exhaustion, blinking up at the older girl. "Come on Honey, let's get you cleaned up. I am sure I have some extra clothing around here that can fit." Reading between the lines, it was really clothing she could make out of simple devil power.

Asia made a small tired sound and let the girl take her out of the room, the odd sensation in Ichigo's chest faded to nonexistence. "Rias," he asked, "are there things that can possess Devils?"

She looked at him with more than a little concern. "I assume you are not a scholar of the Holy word or possibly a believer since we are in Japan." Ichigo nodded. "There...at least any of the ones I have heard are easy to spot, magically speaking, and none of them are from the Bible pantheons. Perhaps you just said the words that needed to be said, you did give Tsubasa-san the proper words, from what I hear."

"Yes, but those were my words...the ones I spoke were not mine and they were only for Asia. Perhaps…" he shook his head, "I will look into some things." He took a breath and set aside that incident for the time being. "I would like to apologize to you, I realize now that what I did when I got here might have implied I thought the worst in you." Her gaze shifted to a neutral one. "It was not my intent, you made an excellent point." Ichigo met her gaze. "I live for a lot of things, helping people is one of them and I wanted simply to help her as fast as possible."

Rias let out a sigh. "That does sound like you." She sat down beside him and her expression became tired. "You caught me at a bad time, I just had a talk with my father." she looked almost haunted, but that vanished as she blinked. "Family duties and all that, duties I would rather not do. You might not be able to tell, but I am not in the best mood, currently."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she said simply, "I am working on a solution, though it leaves much to be desired." She closed her eyes. "Ichigo?"

"Yes, Bouchou?"

"If I needed your help, if I wanted to do something stupid that just might help me, would you help?"

Ichigo did not like the sound of that. "It would depend on what you wanted me to do, you probably can guess the things I would not be a part of."

She snorted. "More like actively resist, but yes, this thought however," she looked at him again, "No, I will not do that, it would hurt a lot of people, my best friend included." Ichigo had no idea what she was thinking, but if that was the case then good, that seemed like a good decision on her part.

"That feels so good." Came a voice from the direction of running water.

"Shh honey your very tense, let Onee-Chan work your shoulders, also your hair is lovely."

Ichigo shook his head. "I was half worried I would have to go do that myself, I must thank Akeno when I get the chance."

"Try to find some unique Jewelry, does not have to be expensive, just make sure it is not a ring, that has a connotation to it." Rias suggested with a smile her eyes too having drifted to the sound of running water.

"Please do not push her," Ichigo said, "She has been through a lot."

Rias glanced at him eyes shrewd. "Of course, I would not dream of it."

Why did he feel that he had walked into some sort of trap, he could not see what it was but the feeling remained nonetheless. "Well good." he said lamely. He searched for something else to say "Um…"

"Don't worry there is nothing here that can harm her, and Akeno will take care of her. I'm a little surprised at her, though given her history..." Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Ah, yes, I can tell you a little. My Queen is the scion of a powerful house of exorcists, her mother was killed by her father's enemies and she was cast out for having his blood in her veins." Rias shook her head "I will not give any more details than that, but I guess that makes it clear she finds some kinship in shared experience."

"My family has never abandoned me, not once." Ichigo said. "I don't think I have ever been more grateful for that." He got up. "I need to go check on something for Sona. I will be back to check on her before the night."

"You do not need to," Rias said, "both I and Akeno will be here and whoever is looking for her will not get her, I promise you that." It was a physical effort not to say he would do it anyway. She was absolutely correct in that statement.

He walked over to the door. "Asia, I will stop by tomorrow morning, make sure to drink lots of water and try to get a little more food into you, ok?"

"O-ok." she answered.

With that settled he gave Rias a smile. "I will hold you to your offer of help Ichigo, I will need it in the future." With those parting words in his ears he stepped outside and vanished in the blur of his Flash Step.

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He found Sona where he expected to find her, at her home, doing more paperwork. She was sitting on the couch, a portable desk in her lap, and did not look up as he entered the room. "Where have you been?" The question was not possessive, or angry, just a question of casual interest. He sat down beside her and gave her the basic story while she attached her name to several of the sheets. "So the only reason you did not bring her here was that Rias was closer?"

"Yes," he shrugged, "It worked out for the best, Akeno might have just found a new friend."

"And you just gave Rias a possible advantage given that this girl had an unknown sacred gear. You do know that you belong to me as well?"

"Belong?"

"You know what I mean." She blushed.

"Do I?" he teased even more, good god it felt good to dish it out. She threw a pencil at him eraser end first and it bounced of his head, she looked adorable with her angry eyes framed perfectly by her glasses. She let out a huff as he raised his hands in surrender. "Where is Tsubaki?" Sona was almost never without her Queen. "She is taking a well deserved bath and should not be disturbed, she worked very hard today."

"Well, I guess I will have to settle for my shower then, because I know how long she takes in that thing."

Sona gave him a heartless look and stuck her tongue out in a manner utterly unbefitting a Student Council President. "She has earned it."

Ichigo chuckled. "I know." He said, shaking his head. "I got a few more questions if you have the time to answer."

"Always." She replied without hesitation, setting down her pen and giving him her full attention.

"Rias mentioned that she uses Akeno to deal with spiritual threats, so can Devils see ghosts and the like and Serafall said you could see ghosts when they are manifested?"

She shrugged. "Most supernaturals have ways of doing it, we Devils are no exception, although the Angels are better at that sort of thing. They deal with the dead more often than our kind."

That...that did not mesh with what he had seen, none of the devils with Rias had been able to see the Plus's and they were human souls they were ghosts. He hummed a thoughtful sound.

"What?"

"I've seen a few ghosts around Kouh and none of the people I was with seemed to notice them. I helped them pass on, but...well it does not mesh with what you said."

"You helped them pass on?"

Ichigo manifested Zangetsu's sealed form and turned him so she could see the symbol on the pommel. "It is..." he paused suddenly remembering the dreams of the boy and what the boy had called Soul Weapons. "I was told," he corrected himself, "That this is the true purpose of weapons such as this, they are things of purification and with proper application can remove corruption. The blade is to deal with the monsters that would eat the Plus's and any human of sufficient spiritual power."

Sona looked intently at the weapon as he spoke. "You are sure that we could not see them?" He nodded. "Perhaps they are a different form of ghost, we Devil's cannot sense your power apparently, although you seem to have no trouble sensing ours. It would make sense that we might not be able to see the things your people deal with, although if that is the case with these 'Hollows', as you called them, I might find reason to worry."

"No need, there are none within twenty miles of this city, though I am not sure why that is, as just my existence alone should at least have drawn a few. If I find one and I have the time I will call and we can see if it is something Devil's can perceive." Though it did bring up questions like why and how did Shinigami seem to exist apart from any other supernatural race. Power that could not be sensed and he would not be surprised if that went both ways, ghosts and creatures that Devils, at least, did not seem to encounter.

"Next question," he said filing away that thought, "The Power of Imagination, how do you find it?"

"Find it?" she asked.

"Well," he felt at a loss on how to explain it, "My other power, my spiritual power is much greater than my devil power and I can't seem to summon any of it out at all...hell I can't even sense it within myself.

"It's there," she said, "I can feel it easily. Though," she leaned towards him, "it has gotten faint, like your compressing it to make it smaller and harder to sense."

"That is what I think is happening, my other power is shrouding it, keeping it all in one place and compressing it. I was hoping there were some exercise or tricks that Devil's could use to draw it out."

Sona nodded. "Very smart to ask, though my answer might not be all that helpful. Each individual is different in how their Power of Imagination works. Unlike the traditional magic system of humans which can be learned through lessons and study a devil's power is more based on personality and how the individuals mind works. After all, it is called the Power of Imagination for a reason. Meditation can help, battle stress often can produce effects and doing things that work your creative process are all ways to learn how to channel it. But in the end it varies, sorry." she apologized.

"No need." He took her hand. "You have been more than helpful." The girl blushed, looking down at his much larger hand covering hers. This flirting, just like teasing, it felt good and right. "Last question," he said letting go, "While I might not know what is going on with Rias and I do not expect you to tell me, is there anything I can do to help her?"

Sona's expression turned bleak at the words and all good humor seemed to flee the room. "She...she will need her peerage to be strong if her current plan does not..." Sona's eyes widened, "She didn't ask you to do that did she?"

"Rias did not tell me what she had in mind, only that she would not ask me because it could hurt you."

The girl relaxed and looked a little guilty at the same time. "Oh," she shook her head, "Now I feel like a terrible friend for even thinking that." She sighed. "I will have to make it right to her, but in answer to your question. I heard that you plan to train Issei and some of your other peerage members are coming along. If you have any unique ways of making them stronger I would suggest you do them. I do not think my friend's first plan will work so her plan B will require strength of arms in the only way that is legal in the devil world."

"And what way is that?"

"A rating game." Ichigo leaned in as she began to explain the rules to him.

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It was late before he left the room to go to his shower and bed. Sona watched his strong back eating the eye candy, so to speak, in a manner utterly immoral for one of her station. For some reason that made the act all the sweeter, something of her Devil nature, perhaps. Ichigo Kurosaki was a very intriguing boy, simple on the outside and yet filled with layers upon layers within. All of that wrapped around a simple, easy to understand motivation. The events he had told her had forged him into a person willing to put their everything on the line for the sake of others, it would be easy to call it a disorder and perhaps it was. The death of a loved one had many effects on the mind, no matter the species.

Sona found the selflessness an intoxicating draw. He was also attractive, kind, and good hearted too, and that had its part to play in her attraction. She, however, was also a devil and there was a part of her that was drawn to him because she believed he was worth such effort. It was a part of her she did not ignore, for to do so would only make it worse. Sona Sitri was a creature of Power and some instinct told her that Ichigo Kurosaki had it. Beyond his words about his own abilities her instincts told her so. It was that part of her nature, power attracting power, that meant she was not all that concerned with the idea that other females were attracted to him.

Her Sister was something that she would have dealt with anyway had that not been the case. Her own Queen had told him that the base instincts of devils was to gather in groups, to unite power with power for the protection of the group and advancement as a whole. It had been something that set the Original Maou apart as they seemed to shun this idea. Sona wondered if Ichigo knew how deep such desires went in true-born Devils. It took time for reincarnated devils to gain the same depth of instinct. Though it was what made Peerages as a whole work so well, and to be fair, groups did not have to become something like a Harem.

Sona felt her face heat at the word, at the images it brought into her head and forced the thought aside with an effort of iron will. Whether that happened with Ichigo Kurosaki, only time would tell. Her hand still felt warm from where he had touched her. Her heart had wanted him to go a lot further in that moment, but now was not the time or the place. Plus, she still had time to get to know him more and understand her own feelings. Besides, it would not be fair to the others involved even if they all seemed to want to get their firsts while they could. Sona smiled at that thought. "Well then," she said to herself, "Game on." She looked down at the papers on the coffee table and almost slapped her head. Right, she had forgotten to ask him if he knew the girl in this transfer request. This Inoue Orihime seemed to be a very bright student with glowing recommendations from everyone it seemed and she was from Ichigo's hometown and High School. Sona shrugged and wrote her name on the paper approving the transfer and that was that. She set the paper aside and got to work on the next, a requisition order from the Kendo club, she sighed and began to read it over.

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"Issei," the boy gulped as his other two friends jumped from where they lay on the ground. They were in an out of the way area of the school and that made it automatically suspicious. Ichigo did not think Issei was trying to avoid him but one never knew. "We have somewhere to be."

The boy blinked. "Oh, right, um..." he waved hesitantly to Motohama and his other friend, "Sorry guys, got to go, and no I have not seen any blond girl in the Occult Club but I will look into it."

Ichigo dragged him away before he could say anything else, perhaps it should have been expected that the perverted duo had a watch on the Occult Club, after all two of the hottest girls in school, according to their list, spent a lot of time there. He would need to put a stop to that, but for now he had other matters to attend to and so did Issei, especially if Sona was correct and a fight was coming. "So," Issei said as the made their way to the Occult Club, "what kind of training do you have in mind?"

"The kind to get your Sacred Gear active, after that," he looked the boy up and down, "We will have to work on your basics."

"Basics?"

"Strength, speed, endurance, reaction time and quick thinking. You, having grown up the way you have, are lacking in those areas. You make up for some of it with courage, but that is only the start."

"That didn't really answer my question about what we are going to do."

"Well, it is a surprise." He replied.

The door opened before they got there and Asia stood there smiling at him. "Ichigo-san!"

"Just Ichigo, please." he replied, smiling at how much better she looked.

Issei had his mouth open as he looked upon the former nun. She shifted, a little uncomfortable at the intensity of his gaze. "Um, hello."

The boy's mouth snapped closed. "Uh, Hi, I'm Issei Hyoudou. Um, were you always here?"

"Um, no." she whispered and moved a little closer to Ichigo's body.

"Don't worry," Ichigo said patting her on the head, "He is a…"friend was not the right word right now. "Comrade and he will not harm you."

"NO," Issei said hands up, "I would never, I'm sorry."

Asia shook her head. "No, it's not your fault," she stepped out in front of him and looked the boy in the eye, "I am Asia Argento and no, I have not been here for long, in fact not until last night."

"Are you a new club member?" Issei asked looking from her to Ichigo.

"No, I'm staying here because Rias-san and Akeno-san are so generous." she smiled. "I had nowhere to go."

"Oh, well, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask me either." Issei's hand moved to the back of his head as he gave her a goofy grin. "I can….pick things up and move them." he added lamely. But it did get the smallest giggle out of the girl as she led them inside.

"Rias said to send you to her office, I need to go eat a little bit more."

Ichigo nodded in approval. "Your appetite is returning?"

"Yes." she replied cheeks becoming a little pink. "It's a little embarrassing." He patted her blond hair once again as she stepped to the side.

"Don't worry, your body will settle down, and thank you for opening the door."

"You're welcome." She beamed at the praise and Issei looked almost enraptured by her suddenly lovely appearance.

As the door to the main office closed behind him Issei spoke. "What happened and why is she here?"

"Found her on the street and brought her here." Ichigo said. "But that is not your concern right now." He nodded at Rias who pointed at a glowing red circle in the ground.

"Koneko, Kiba, and several of Sona's peerage who wanted to go will be coming along shortly just to let you know, they all want to see more of what you can do." She shook her head "Make sure they at least do something productive."

"With pleasure." He replied, while a grin spread across his face, and stepped onto the circle.

"And don't break Issei." The boy beamed at her concern then processed the words and gulped as he glanced over at the intimidating figure of Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Perhaps I should have prepared my Will?" the boy muttered as he stepped onto the glowing red lines. There was an odd sensation in his gut and then they were in a forest, Issei looked around in wonder. "Where are we?"

Ichigo rolled his shoulders. "Watch what I do and do it yourself." he ordered as he began to stretch out his legs and arms, in slow deliberate motions. "When you are training make sure to stretch out, often times before battles you do not have the chance, but for this take every advantage you can."

"Ok." The boy followed his motions as best he could making groaning sounds as his body protested the unfamiliar moments. To someone like Ichigo they were second nature and his body had long since adapted to the strain. "So how are we going to do this?" Issei gasped as he tried to touch his toes.

"Well, I was thinking of doing it the way I learned it and attack you until I get results or you die." the boy froze and Ichigo winced at his inside joke. "Sorry, that was the way I was trained, or at least that is what they told me, I can't even pretend to do that well."

"Ok, that's good." Issei said in a high pitched voice.

"Indeed I am going to try something different" the Hybrid moved to another stretch "But that will come latter, I am curious about something."

"Oh, Can we do the trading questions game again?"

Ichigo sighed. "Sure, but I go first." he moved to stand up and pull his arm behind his head "What are your goals now?"

The boy opened his mouth then closed it and steached for a few more seconds before answering "I...I mean, I want a harem." he offered. Having spent enough time around the boy he was not surprised, "I um, I want to pay back Bouchou for, you know, giving me a new life and you for saving it." That was...not what he would have preferred but Ichigo knew that he was an oddity in the world and that besides the harem thing Issei was just being normal. "What are your goals?"

"To protect the ones I love." he said easily. "Those that are around me, those within my reach."

"Ohh, like Shirou Emiya?"

"No." Ichigo said. "I allow myself some self worth and greed." Issei snorted in laughter. "Besides I know I cannot save everyone, I don't really seek if it is outside my senses...unless I know something is going to happen….ya I have to know about it, before I can act on it."

"That...that is still a pretty large amount of people you want to save."

"Got to have goals, but beyond that I want my friends to be happy and safe. I want to use my power to help people and live my life….my very, very, very, very long devil life….." He shook his head. "Ten thousand years."

"Ya." Issei said "I am trying not to think about that."

"Alright, Issei run with me." he set off at a good pace which the boy, who he knew had never done any running in his life, kept up with well, Devil biology at work.

"Are you still a Virgin?"

Did it say something about him, that he was not surprised or shocked in anyway by the questions? "Yes."

"Oh." was Issei's reply.

"Do you have any fighting experience, any martial arts anything?" Ichigo returned.

"No."

That had been the answer he was expecting as he upped the speed a bit as they moved uphill, he had not told Issei that he had come here before to make sure he knew the area. "So were you human before you became a Devil like me?"

"As I have come to find out, no." Ichigo replied. "Well...that depends. My mothers side might, or might not, consider themselves human. I am not sure and I can't ask her."

"So a definite maybe?" Ichigo nodded, that answer was as good a summary as any.

Ichigo went into a full sprint which cut off all other conversation as the boy labored to keep up, after all they were sprinting up a mountain path and there was only so much devil biology could do to someone. To the boy's credit he was only thirty or so feet behind when Ichigo found the spot he wanted as they turned off the path and ran onto an open section which went for about a hundred feet before a straight drop.

Issei reached and and promptly fell over, though Ichigo caught him and pulled him back to his feet. "Laying down will slow recovery." They boy could not answer as he was taking in great gasps of air, putting his hands on his knees. The sun felt hot on this open ground and from where they stood both could see the place where they started.

"Why," the boy managed to gasp out, "are we up here?"

Ichigo ignored the question and gathered his will, blue light shimmered around him as his armor and blade formed along his body. Issei flinched at the light and looked at him in awe. "That is so cool it is unfair." he grumbled.

"Tell me Issei, what do you think the future holds?"

"Uh, what?" Ichigo just glanced at him and waited. "Um...Oppai, I hope, and um…" he gave him an uncomfortable look and looked scared as he said, "Danger." His hand moved over his chest where Raynare had nearly cut him in half. "There...there are monsters out there and we have to fight some of them."

"I think so too." Ichigo said turning to look out over the cliff. "Rias mentioned that something might be coming, something that will involve all of us." He felt the boy's eyes on him. "Bouchou will need our help, she needs us to be as strong as possible. That includes you Issei, you are part of this now."

"I can't," he half whined in frustration, hands clawing at the air, "I have tired, I know it's there, but I just can't."

Ichigo let out a sigh and drew forth his sword holding it up so that sunlight reflected off the white part of its steel, "Issei, that power of yours does not matter."

"What?"

"As a devil you are stronger, faster, tougher. You will have power and magic in time and all of that does not depend on your sacred gear. Look down, look how far you made it and I will bet you never ran before in your life." The boy was looking down now eyes wide in realization "So what we are going to do is train that, train your body into a weapon." He smiled. "Some girls like that and I can tell you that people in good shape are more attractive, but beyond that you have the power to be more." He had the boy's full attention now. "I will show you and work with you, I will help make you a Warrior, unless you tell me not to, right here and right now."

The boy's brown eyes were wide as he met Ichigo's intense gaze he felt his heart pound like a jackhammer, the sensation of standing on an abyss and having to decide whether to take a leap of faith. "Do it." He said before he could stop himself. "Make me stronger, make me strong enough to, to..."

"To do what?" Ichigo asked.

And….then Issei knew the answer. He looked down as his body, not the strongest or the best but it would do. With the strength he had he could be something more, beyond a boy who still loved Oppai, beyond a Devil. He, Issei Hyoudou, could be a Hero. No, that was not the right word, he could be like this Man in front of him, willing to face the darkness, he could be a Protector. "Make me strong enough to protect, those here now and," he looked away, "if anyone special comes after."

"Then abandon your fear," Ichigo said looking at the boy his eyes glowing blue, "Move forward, never step back, to do so is to age, to age like that is to die, and to die in such a way will protect no one." His power flared in response to his words, blue aura covering both of them.

Issei clenched his fists, the words striking his heart, wildly beating at the force of the words, at the wind swirling around them. It was like every word was hammered into his soul by this Man's words. The pure will and reality behind them, he could feel, in that moment, the burning across his chest that Yuuma had done to him. Such a memory, such a vivid feeling should have sent him to his knees. But here, in this moment, under the words of Ichigo Kurosaki he let himself fall into the feeling let it pore over his body, burning him, burning him and he snarled against it. Against what had been done to him, a murder by a creature who had laughed as it did so. The burning ran through him and seemed to be drawn into his arm, green light began to glow in contrast to the blue all around him.

Ichigo watched as Issei's arm began to glow and….did his eyes flicker blue like his?

Issei let out a howl as the burning reached a crescendo and then it flared out in a shockwave and sent him to his knees, gasping like he had run a marathon. Upon his right arm was metal? A red metal that covered his forearm with a green jewel afixed above the back of his hand. He stared into it and a blue light flickered within, its shape was odd, a cross with a circle that went through each tip, it was only there for a moment before it disappeared.

His head snapped up as a new sensation crashed down on him, a feeling of weight and power, he had begun sensing things, though he had no control over it. Bouchou had told him all Devil's could do it, and what he felt now was power, power as deep as the ocean, as vast as the sky, he almost passed out before the sensation faded and his senses returned to normal. He looked up as Ichigo held out a hand and drew him to his feet, pulling him up by his red gauntlet. "Well done." The Man told him.

Issei gulped at the power he still felt in this Man, and found himself grateful that he was on their side. "Thank you." Was all he could say.

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The dragon's eyes opened as it felt its newest host call it forth, such an act had no real effect on it and was hardly worth the note. In time its host would come to it for power and then, only then would things start to get interesting.

Before it closed its senses there was a blue flash. Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon, the Red Dragon Emperor, The Dragon of Domination, recoiled at the Quincy Cross. Suddenly it's full consciousness was awake his senses expanding, (Unknowingly to him, forcing his host to gain them as well).

The oddest thing was before his host. It was a thing he had sensed before, but had not been paying attention to what he had assumed was a worm at most. Twisting power flowed through the creature, power at odds with each other somehow brought into harmony, against all reason and order. Powers he had felt and fought before, the Hungry Ones of the Shadow world, the creations of the Betrayed god, the Devil's of the Bible and last, but not least, the power of the Quincy King.

Suddenly its host was not so uninteresting as the Dragon turned its mighty mind, reading its host's memories and thoughts. "This monster is going to teach my host to fight…." Well, there was nothing he could do right now. He was safe, in this gear, from the power of the Quincy King, thoughts of that creature sending a flare of pain through Ddraig and calling up a memory of a battlefield as a mighty dragon crawled away from the broken man who had almost killed it. That fight, his hand burned at the memory of that power seared into his very soul. Now, to find himself before a descendent of that godling, it brought back unwanted sensations. The first time he had been close to death, the only other time he had felt like that was when the Leaders of the Three Biblical Factions destroyed his body.

It grumbled to itself, as the Red Dragon forced its mind to relax, this was not the Quincy King, just a descendant and nothing to be really troubled about. Still, it was interesting and that was more than it could ask for in his current state. Ddraig's mind began to settle again as it left part of its vast consciousness awake to study what was going on with its host.

The Dragon of Domination did not notice, nor even feel, the small amount of power that had flowed deep into the Sacred Gear, flowing into the other powers the gear had taken in through its occupation of countless hosts. The quincy cross glowed again deep within the green gem emblazing itself permanently into the stone before winking out.

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Hope you all enjoyed

Fanboy913.

P.S I love reading peoples theory's in the comments thank you to those who take the time to write them.


	15. Chapter 14

Hey everyone, its been a while but thats what two jobs, rent and bills will do to you, if you go to college I would suggest community college for the first two years you save a lot of money.

Anyway thanks to Aroneden for proof reading the chapter and I hope you all have a good day.

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Ichigo nodded at his fellow peerage members that appeared from the teleportation circle. Kiba and Koneko looked none the worse for ware, though both had kept on their school uniforms rather than the workout clothing he and Issei wore. He glanced over to see the Issei reach the clearing, his face red with exertion and his body trembling as he took only a moment to nod at the new arrivals before turning and beginning a lagging run back up the path he had just come down.

"What are you doing with Blue Balls over there?" Koneko asked.

Ichigo choked back a laugh. "Do not call him that," he chided both himself and her, "He is doing well for a first timer."

The girl met his gaze, her gold gaze intent. "What is Issei-san doing?"

"Running for the most part, today I am working him on his endurance, tomorrow or the next day depending on devil biology will be physical strength."

"So, the basics then." Kiba said.

"They are the foundation of everything. As my old Karate teacher used to say, everything starts with them." He glanced over at them. "Can I assume you two do some form of workout every morning?"

Kiba looked offended by the words and Koneko rolled her eyes. "We have been doing this a lot longer than you," The boy said, "We know our rolls and what is required." Koneko nodded in agreement with the Knight.

"Thought so." He was relieved that only Issei seemed to be an amature. "So Koneko how do you fight?"

"Hand to hand." she replied. "I do not know if there is any analog to human martial arts, but I do a form of one." She did not give in indication as to what it was called. "My body is like yours, strong and tough and my size allows me to move with surprising speed for one of my class."

"Are you offensive or defensive in your fighting?"

"Offensive." she said simply.

He made a note of that, deciding then and there he would have to fight her to get a better understanding of what she did. "Kiba?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever taught anyone the blade?"

"No," the boy said after a moment, "I'm not that great of a teacher." He thought about it for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

"I have no formal sword training," Ichigo said simply, "only what I learned in the press of battle and by instinct. I want to better myself in every way I can and that includes seeing what I can learn from a formal style."

Kiba nodded "I am not the person to speak to then. Tomoe in your other peerage would be better at it as she trains the kendo club a few times a year and from what I hear is quite good."

Well, he learned something new about his peerage mates every day. "I will do that." He glanced up the path. "If you want to you should both stretch out. When Issei gets back I will give him a break and let him watch my spar with you two."

"Which one goes first?" Kiba asked.

"I did say both you." He grinned. Both devils looked at him, eyes intent. He knew he had just laid down a challenge to them and they knew it too. Koneko tilted her head before nodding and slowly leaning forward to stretch out her legs. Ichigo allowed himself a moment for his eyes to rome the lean muscles of her calves and appreciate the flexibility to which her body was accustomed. Her golden eyes flicked to him and her cheeks pinkened a little but she was smiling now. Kiba shook his head at both of them and began his own sets of stretches which, even through his school uniform, showed a body that had been sculpted for high speed battles.

Ichigo moved a bit too, walking around as he had been doing to keep his body loose, waiting for several minutes before Issei came into the clearing, almost falling as he began to turn. "Take a break." Ichigo said and the boy collapsed, body heaving with what was probably burning lungs. He was about to speak when the boy groaned and pushed himself back to his feet holding one arm against a tree to steady himself. "Watch this carefully." Ichigo said before using the Flash Step to flee from his current spot.

As Koneko smashed the earth where he had been Ichigo formed his armor and drew his blade, spinning into a slash to catch Kiba's strike and force it to the side. The Knight moved fast, almost becoming a flash of movement circling him, distracting him as Koneko leapt at him. He dodged grasping her arm which punched empty air and spun throwing her through a wooden tree smashing it to the ground. Zangetsu flicked through the air as he caught a blindingly swift slash, then twisting to intercept another.

Kiba was fast, but Ichigo had faced faster. As the boy circled him at Knight speed the Hybrid lashed out with his foot, catching Kiba in mid motion sending him tumbling along the ground.

The Rook was on him before he could do anything more. Ichigo flung Zangetsu, hilt first, at Kiba before meeting Koneko with fists alone. She struck hard, but the attacks were slow. Though, if the pressure he felt while deflecting them was any indication, they were powerful. His forearm shot out, gently nudging aside her latest blow and countering with with a strike of his own towards her chest. The girl reacted like a spring trap, her body jerking inward, hands closing on his arm. Had he been slower she would have caught his strike and been able to counter attack. "Offensive, eh?" he asked.

She gave him a devil-may-care look then he leapt skyward, before two blades could slash at his back, his hand stretched open so Zangetsu came spinning through the air and into it. Kiba pressed him in an expansion of wings and steel, pushing himself to reach Ichigo's height. Their blades sent sparks raining down on the forest as they collided, Kiba unleashing an all-out assault as Koneko rushed to join the Knight.

Ichigo was pleased at how they worked together, if he did not have the Flash Step he would have been in trouble, holding back as he was. Ichigo wanted to see what they could do, to press them and find the limits they had. He let his Rook strength become fully apparent as his downward blow, which Kiba blocked, knocked the knight almost into the ground. He danced around Koneko's attacks using his ability to easily create solid platforms from spirit power under his feet and kick like the air was ground giving him a degree of maneuverability that neither devil could match in the sky.

His foot crashed into Koneko's back and the girl grunted as she was thrown from the sky, smashing into the ground and tearing her clothing a little on the shoulder. Otherwise it seemed she had come to no harm, but there was a crackle below him. Kiba had a yellow blade, jagged in appearance and crackling with lightning. It blasted up at him in a surge of electricity and he raised an arm toward his face. There was a tug from somewhere in his soul and his spiritual power rushed out. Black-red power began to spin before his raised arm as the power shaped itself into Tensa Zangetsu's guard, though it was spinning fast enough to seem like a solid shield. When the lightning hit it and splashed around it, he could feel the new ability in his mind, affixed in place by his will and as he looked down at Kiba, tilted his head in curiosity. On a hunch he snapped his arm at the boy, releasing the power from his mental grip. The thing flew through the air, spinning like a discus and Kiba leapt out of the way before it impacted the ground with strength enough to crack it, though it did not explode.

Ichigo sheathed Zangetsu, clenching his fists and focusing his power. It was so much easier to do so in this state, with most of his power locked away in his Shikai. He could unleash that if he wanted, but this sensation of control was nice and new. Two small disks of black energy, about the length and width of his hand, spun to life over his wrists. In a blur of movement he was on Koneko his fists lashing in quick light blows. She tried to find a way to counter attack but he was too fast his fist scoring several good hits before he whirled blocking Kiba's lighting sword with the disc above his wrist. He raised his left arm, focusing on the raised part of the armor with the open hole, pointing it at Kiba. He focused on it, willing the power in him to from a solid, blunt mass of energy, and fired it relatively slow. But the Knight was too intent on attacking, his great speed put into his offensive barrage as Koneko recovered behind him. So when the blue-white slug blasted out of the wrist gun in his arm the knight could not dodge and was launched back into a tree hard enough to jar his entire body.

Koneko had abandoned her counter attack strategy and her leg lashed out. He raised his leg, letting the hard blow strike it, receiving the blow and the force, but doing so before it had reached its maximum speed and effect. His other foot stomped the ground a moment later with all the force he could muster, he did not expect the shockwave or the ground to buckle quite as hard as it did, sending the smaller Rook toppling off her feet and getting her partially buried by rubble. Kiba had just gotten up from being blasted away when Ichigo launched the hovering disk over one arm, flat end first, into the boy's chest, it's spin seeming to dig its way in. With an effort of will Ichigo canceled the ability before it could do any lasting damage beyond tearing Kiba;s shirt and slightly burning his skin. With his other disk he focused on expanding it as Koneko launched several heavy pieces of debris his way only to have them smash against his power and fall short.

Koneko got up her shirt torn in several places revealing a pink and white striped bra which Issei from his vantage point was locked onto like a shark seanting blood. That annoyed him...but only because it was Koneko and well.. He noticed Issei freeze as he glanced up at him and with clear effort pulled his eyes away from Koneko his hands raised in surrender. Kiba used that time to pull himself to his feet and gave a pained laugh. "Maou, Ichigo Kurosaki what in the hell happened to you?" Koneko tilted her head at him, smirking as his gaze lingered on her for a moment. The devil looked proudly at him before her power began to remake the school dress, he glanced over at Kiba who did the same.

"Well what do you two think?"

"You were holding back." they both said at the same time in the same deadpan manner.

"And?"

"I am glad you are on our side." Kiba winced and put a hand across his ribs. "Next time though let's just do swords."

"Sorry." Ichigo said with a wince. "I wanted to see what you two would do in battle." He glanced at Kiba. "What were those swords?"

"They were my Sacred Gear. It is called Sword Birth and allows me to forge weapons whose powers and abilities can vary depending on what I need."

"Hmm...you could do a lot with that, any weakness?"

"They are easy to break if I start making too many. It takes something out of me and if I do it too much the blades will become weaker." Kiba shrugged. "I can do other things with it like summon a lot of pointy metal or make a wall of sorts."

"Might be able to correct that with training"

"Oh I have, when I first started it was one brittle weapon."

Ichigo nodded and glanced at Koneko. "So is counter attack your main method?"

"Only when I do not think I can catch my opponent." the girl said while walking over to him, well within his personal space, a fact he did not mind at all. "Like most Rooks," she glared at him, "I am relatively slow. My speed advantage of size comes in handy against other Rooks or Pawns, Knights are a weakness."

"Well, now we know what to work on." he put his hand on her head and rubbed it gently, feeling her hair between his fingers and enjoying the sensation. If the expression on Koneko's face was any indication, she did too. He felt a low rumble vibrating against his hand, almost like purr come to think of it.

"Issei, what did you think?"

The boy looked startled as three sets of eyes turned on him and paused to give it some thought. "Most of that was too fast for me," he admitted with a sheepish smile, "But it looked like," he seemed to struggle for a moment, "Amateur vs a Professional."

Perhaps it was the bruising he had put on them but both devil's seemed not to take offence to that statement. "They have been devil's for a great deal of time longer than me so there is a lot I do not know." He cautioned both Issei and himself. "Combat, however," he shrugged modestly, "That is something I am an expert at." He glanced from Issei to the nearby mountain and back to Issei, the boy slumped his shoulders and with a few coughing breaths began to move his legs again.

"So what was the point of that?" Kiba asked once Issei was out of hearing, Koneko nodded though she kept her head under his hand.

"Noticed that?" he asked amused.

"I heard about your sparring matches with your other peerage and this was quite a bit beyond them."

Ichigo shrugged "I wanted him to see a good fight, to understand what he could aspire to if he trained. The kind of power that is within his potential. What better way to show that then a first hand experience in which he is not in danger."

"You think he has potential?" Koneko asked with more than a little skepticism.

"He is worth eight Pawns." he reminded her, closing his eyes and focusing his supernatural senses on the boy as he ran. "Plus," he added after a moment, "with what he has on his arm, his potential is as vast as the power that dwells within it." He smiled to himself "Guess I will have to work hard to keep up."

Both devils were looking at him quizzically. "Now as for you two…." he thought for a few moments as he moved his eyes from Koneko to Kiba. "You," he said to Kiba, "The best I can give to you is more fighting experience I think, you are already fast but," he looked back at Koneko, "Let's see if I can figure out a secret that might help with your weakness...or at least if it is possible given how you will have to use your devil power to do it."

Both looked at him quizzically. "At the same time?" Kiba asked.

Ichigo closed his eyes reaching for his connection to Zangetsu. 'Have you been listening?' There was a surge of acknowledgment, though no words. 'I promise to ask you no questions nor seek any answers you do not wish to give, but will you help teach this boy?' Another pulse of sensation, a question this time. 'Because as you consider it your duty to protect me, and if I am surrounded by strong people' he let the last part of that thought go unsaid. There was a moment of emptiness and then a pulse of acknowledgment.

He opened his eyes, took out his sword, turing his hand so the point was down, and simply let go, letting the blade fall. Both devils watched it in confusion as the point hit the ground and there was a bell tone as the ground seemed to ripple, blue light exploded from the sword then contracted, taking shape and gaining color. Kiba jumped back in surprise as Old Man Zangetsu opened his eyes to the physical world. "Kiba this is Zangetsu he is my….Sacred Gear. Zangetsu, this is Kiba please teach him as you taught me."

The old man nodded ever so slightly, the small blade that Ichigo's current form used appearing his hand. The boy tilted his head at the man and an expression that Ichigo could not place crossed his face. Without another world Kiba called forth a golden sword and bowed to Zangetsu, but the old man gave no sign of respect back as Kiba had not earned it. He simply attacked once Kiba was ready, the boy blocked the blow and was sent flying backwards and out of clearing, the windforce of the blow sending Koneko's skirt skyward. In a blur of movement Zangetsu followed the trail of devastation.

"Um..." Koneko said.

"Don't worry he won't kill, at heart he is a teacher...or is it part of my soul is a teacher?….I don't know." he said motioning for her to follow as he lead the girl to a fallen tree where he took a seat and gestured for her to do so as well. "I'm thinking that the best way I can help you is to give you a speed advantage, something that you have said Rooks lack."

"Except for you." she grumbled.

"Well I want to fix that. I am wondering if it could be possible for devil power to mimic my Flash Step." She tilted her head in question. "The high speed movement I was doing in our sparring match." Her eyes widened at that. "If devil power works as something imagination based then it should be possible. Of course I can't seem to find mine so I need someone else to test it." She nodded and pulled closer until they were touching. "The Flash Step is an application of our spiritual energy, we draw out our power in a burst or a quick flare and channel it into our legs. When we do that there is a moment in which our bodies are able to move at incredible speed. How far you can go and how long you can hold that speed is dependent on how long you can keep that charge within you, but you can't force it to stay. My teacher called that the Art of the Flash Step with all the other facts being the science. Do you think that devil power could do the same thing?"

"I don't know, that sounds like a function of the power you use, a unique interaction between the body and this spiritual energy. Some bloodlines of devil power have unique attributes such as Bouchou's Power of Destruction, or the Phoenix Regeneration."

"I am not so sure, anyone with my power can do it. Perhaps it is not a natural aspect of devil power, but it might be able to be replicated."

"As much as I hate to admit Sona would be the best to speak to about this, she is the best at the fine manipulation of power." The annoyed look on her face spoke volumes of the effort it took to say that.

On impulse he kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you for your honesty." He glanced over her head. "Issei is coming back, once he has a minute to recover I'm going to teach him how to throw a punch." She nodded looking dazed and happy. "Do you want to help me teach him?"

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"I could have sworn I told you not to break my servants." Rias said looking at a bruised, and some slightly fractured bones, Kiba who nonetheless was smiling contentedly. Apparently he had managed to get Zangetsu to give him a compliment. Issei was lying face down on the couch and violently trembling as he body attempted to give out on him only for the powerful devil biology to raise a middle finger to human biology and put itself back together stronger and at a much quicker rate than a human.

'They are doing well," Koneko smiled primly apparently unharmed. "I think progress was made."

"They are hurting Ichigo."

"Well, we are not human anymore, so we can cheat and work through the pain."

She looked about to say something else when Akeno walked in the room with Asia following quickly behind. The girl was in a Kuoh academy uniform complete with a skirt far too short, though it did not seem to register with her. He was surprised at how healthy she looked, hardly a day with food and water and she seemed to have made a week's recovery. Her Sacred Gear perhaps?

The girl took on look at the to boys and raised a hand to her mouth eyes wide. "What happened?" she whispered in horror.

"Training." Kiba said with a smile and winced as he put to much pressure on his ribs. The former nun made a sound of pure empathy before rushing over to the boy. Kiba gave her a confused look and when she played her hands on his ribs he winced and opened his mouth to speak. That was when a green light filled the room, every eye turned on the girl as Kiba let out a gasp, half pain, half pleasure at it's sudden absence.

There was a cracking sound after about a few seconds before he leaned back his ribs looking much better. "Thank you." he said.

Rias looked at Asia like her evil pieces were burning a hole in her pocket. "Wow," Ichigo said, "What are the odds?"

"Can I get some of that?" Issei whimpered.

"I'm sorry," she bowed her head in shame, "It does not work on exhaustion." Plus Issei needed to heal naturally so that he would become stronger, but Ichigo did not say that out loud.

"You can heal people, that is your power." Rias let out a sigh of pure pleasure. "You are an amazing girl Asia."

The girl looked away embarrassed. "It was just a gift from God."

The devil's around her looked uncomfortable about that statement through Ichigo felt none of it himself. "So that is how you're doing so well."

"What?" she asked shyly as she reaised he was looking intently at her.

"You look like someone who has recovered on good food for a week rather than a day, I assume you healing ability worked on the physical damage?"

"Oh, yes it did and thank you all for the food, it is good." She leaned against Akeno as she said it and the older girl smiled down at her putting a hand in her hair.

"Your welcome, dear." Asia glowed at the words.

Issei interrupted the moment by moving his arm. "Why does it feel worse as I feel better?"

"Thats your body healing, your torn muscles growing back stronger, your circulatory system becoming more efficient, and a dozen other things that mean you are getting stronger." Ichigo said.

"I don't feel like getting stronger anymore." the boy moaned.

"Well, that is too bad because day after tomorrow we are doing it again."

"Noo~" Issei whispered. "Just kill me~"

"No can do, Issei." Ichigo smiled a little. "You have too much potential, and soon enough I think the motivation will not be a problem." Rias gave him an odd look at those words, but he ignored it. "Well," he nodded the people in the room, "I need to get going." For a moment he thought someone was going to bring up his plans for the night and ruin Koneko's good mood. Thankfully both Rias and Akeno seemed to know better for the moment.

"All right, I appreciate the efforts you are making on our behalf, though I would ask that you follow my commands when I give them to you."

Ichigo gave her a look which she returned. "I went as far as they could and I did follow your order. I know from personal experience training needs to be hard and tough, it need to push your limits. That is how I am alive right now."

"Be that as it may, training does not need to end in injury. What if we had a rating game come up and my knight had a broken rib." Then he would have taken the boy to see Orihime and damn that consequences of that. "I heard some of what you told Sona, about your past and your trials. I can see that the way you have had to learn was brutal, a matter of life and death. But as we are now that is not needed."

What could he tell her, that he believed the future held more than peace in store for them. It was nothing more than a feeling…."I understand," he said with a nod, "I will..."

"Do I not get a say in this?" Kiba interrupted. "I was the one who was injured." Rias paused before nodding. "Bouchou, this afternoon was perhaps the most jarring experience I have had in recent years." He leaned in. "I learned several errors in how I was fighting, I was able to track my opponent by the end. Not keep up, or really defend well, but track at least. I feel like I gained something by this, power that can help me be a better servant to you." Ichigo felt bad for Asia who looked even more confused, but still said nothing.

Rias let out a sigh. "I do not want to see any more broken bones at all, am I clear?" Her voice was hard now, a compromise in her eyes and more than she wanted to give.

"Yes Bouchou." Kiba and Ichigo said and he felt Zangetsu's acknowledgement and amusement at the same time.

As he left he heard that Akeno was going to take Asia for a burger as the nun had not had one before. The girl looked nervous at going out but it seemed that Akeno had convinced her that she would be safe with her. Just as the door closed he heard Issei asked if he could come along too and that he was starving.

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So when a freshly bathed and refreshed Ichigo Kurosaki found his way to the basketball court, Tsubasa Yura was waiting. She had texted him to wear his gym clothes or anything he would be comfortable in for physical activity. She seemed to be dressed much more modestly since they were going out on the town. With a better fitting white tee shirt, loose sweatpants, with tennis shoes and ankle high socks finished by a hoodie tied around her waist. He felt a lot less like a voyeur looking at her firm legs when she was dressed like this.

He had gone with grey sweatpants, a black tee shirt with the number 17 on it, and his tennis shoes. Which she nodded approvingly. "You should wear tighter shirts you know, you have a rockin bod."

Ichigo coughed and nodded in her direction. "That looks good on you too, Yura." the use of her name brought out a radiant smile as she gently punched him in the shoulder.

"So what are we doing today?"

She grinned. "Follow me." Ichigo did so. As they went back into the school there was a sense of apprehension as they entered the School Council room, only to find it empty. From the expression on Tsubasa's face it seemed she had expected it. They went behind Sona's dek and she pulled him close to her. Under them a blue circle came to light as a rush of teleportation flashed across his senses. He blinked, one moment in a school, the next on an empty beach under the evening sky, it was an odd experience even though he had done it just today. A smile touched his face, he was used to having to run for a while to cross such distances.

"Oh, you like it here?" Tsubasa said.

"Its empty?" he replied "And I did not bring a swimsuit."

"Lucky for us I did." she took off her backpack and reaching in tossed him some loose fitting blue swim shorts. For herself she pulled out a pastel pink string bikini bottom and top. Ichigo coughed and turned around, looking over the beach for a place they could change. He noted that this place seemed empty, no light pollution, no buildings, no people, only the sounds of animals moving in the shadow of trees. He leapt up about two hundred feet and surveyed below him...they were on a freaking island, small one at that. He landed lightly. "Ichigo." he turned to find Tsubasa holding her arms across her chest, her clothing was pooled on the ground. The pink bottom she wore was small enough that you could see the lines between her legs, what was more it stood out against her pale skin. The bottom of small enough that it rode the curves of her amazing ass just enough to draw the eye and the pink of the little number contrasted well with her blue hair. The girl looked positively sexy and she knew it. "Would you tie this please?" she turned around showing the whole length of her naked back. Ichigo only paused for a moment before reaching out and tying the strings of the bikini behind her back. "Thank you." when she turned her hands went behind her clenching each other. "Well, you need to get dressed too."

Ichigo got the sense that this was some sort of test, which was the only reason why he did not flash step away to somewhere hidden. The words he had spoken to her, about how much he did not care about people seeing his body went through his head. He sighed and turned around, no sense in giving the girl the full show, but perhaps she needed the assurance. He slipped off his shirt and pants with quick motions feeling her eyes on his back like spotlights, with a microsecond of hesitation his boxers followed along with his shoes and socks. Then he pulled up the swim shorts and tied them off before looking back.

It seemed she had not quite been as prepared as she might have thought with her face red and eyes averted. "Well, are we going swimming?"

He thought about it for a moment and a thought occurred brining a smile to his face, "What?" she asked. Ichigo moved forward and swept her off her feet, drawing out a shocked cry, the sound was only amplified as he flashed off the island and over the ocean for a twenty foot drop right into the icy cold water. Tsubasa wiggled out of his grip once the water went over their heads and when he surfaced he got a mouth full of seawater. "The hell was that for?!" she shrieked.

He had to spit out the salty water "Fun!" He replied before returning the splash using the full measure of his rooks strength plus his shinigami power. There was a light dispersion of his reshi into the water and what resulted was a wave that sent her ass over teakettle spinning through it like a top.

When she came sputtering back for air he noted two blue circles of light that had appeared before her hands. "You have done it now!" she hissed, though her eyes were sparkling. She let out a howl and sent her own wave his way, a bit smaller, but enough to return unto him what had been done to her, of course he had been prepared.

"So, you're good at magic?" he asked, when he got back to the surface.

"Nah, not really, but it is the "Power of Imagination and it only takes brute force to do this."

"Well, same here!" he said using both hands and repeating his wave push, she met it with her own magicly empowered one and the water sent up a spray of white that rained all over them. It was the perfect screen as he could sense her soul with ease and he slipped beneath the waves. She would have seen him if it had not been for the disturbance in the water. As his feet touched the ground, he leapt up, pushing off the bottom with all his might. His hands pressed into her thighs and he surged about teen feet out of the water, while his fellow Rook went considerably higher. Now, she could have used her wings at any point, Ichigo knew, but she screamed all the way up and down slamming into the water hard enough to send even more spray into the air. Some got in his eyes and he wiped it away when two hands grabbed onto his forearm and he abruptly left the water and began to spin, it was three complete revolutions before Tsubasa Yura, wings fully extended, let go and sent him skipping across the top of the water like a rock.

Each slam into the water's surface forced both a breath and a laugh out of him before he tumbled past the waters surface and slowed to a halt in the cold embrace. He left the water in a burst of movement meeting the bikini-clad devil in the air. "Not what I had in mind," she said, grinning like a loon, "But so~ much better!"

That was when he tackled her driving her from the air and back into the ocean as the struggled against one another grip spinning in the blue water until the need for air forced them back to the top. Ichigo coughed out saltwater as Tsubasa blew her nose and shook her head violently. "One thing I always wanted to do was just play with my powers," Ichigo admitted, "But there was never the time or the person."

The girl gave him a half hearted glare. "So you decided to do it with the tomboy is that it?"

"Are you telling me to stop?"

Her arm slipped under his shoulder, "Nope!" and she twisted, hurling him up and out of the ocean, following his flight in a burst of wings. Kicking off the air itself he twisted around her, grabbing her ankle. She tensed in preparation, which meant she was not prepared when he ran his fingers across the soles of her feet drawing a burst of hysterical laughter. Her other foot came down, kicking him hard and making him lose his grip and backflip into the water. "Ass!" she snarled holding her leg like he had wounded it.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Light crackled on her hand. "Oh, no." he said as she came down with a punch to shatter rocks, and a sensation flowed over him as he watched, an instinct. He felt it when the power of his soul entered his blood, saw the lines of blue running through his chest and belly following the veins spread throughout. When the blow impacted him it created a space of air in the water but he only felt like it had been a relatively moderate blow.

She was red faced when he resurfaced. "So, no tickling?"

"NO!" she snarled, though it still had more play then anger.

"Alright," he paused for a moment then turned away, "You lost your top."

There was a pause for a moment "Did you enjoy the view?"

"...yes."

"Good."

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It was dark when both crawled out of the water. Both were sore and tired, a feeling that they loved. It meant that something had been accomplished, plus just playing around with super strength knowing that you would not really hurt anyone was a freedom that did not come often.

Tsubasa led him on a short walk, neither saying anything, letting their labored breaths do the talking. He found himself unsurprised when just out of sight of where they had been was a small set up. A fire circle with kindling, a cooler with perspiration on its outside. Two towels the size of blankets on the sand and a grill rack made to be placed over an open fire.

"Had this planned out, did you?"

She nodded. "I like doing things my way. If you get the fire going I will get the food prepared."

"You cook?" She had her back to him so he could not see her face. "My mother taught me when I was little, some of it stuck. Then I started getting the chance to spend time out in the wild or as close as this is, so I got pretty good at roughing it." She tossed him a pack of matches. "By the way, do you even know how to start a fire?"

He shook his head. "I assume with this preset pile that I just hold a match under it."

"Really, you never started a fire before?"

"No." He struck a match and held it under the pile, which caught fire quickly.

"Once it eats away at the tinder and starts getting the bigger sticks put a few of the smaller log pieces onto it." She instructed as her hands danced over what looked like cuts of meat being rubbed down with salt, pepper and some liquid he did not know. He nodded at her back and followed her instructions, she must have done it a lot because in no time it was leaping and dancing bathing the area around them in firelight.

"Some of my favorite memories with the others are when we come to this island for beach weekends." She said into the silence. "In a kitchen I am no match for the likes of Tsubaki or Akeno, but out here in the sticks without a kitchen or modern equipment," she turned and placed the cuts on the open grill, "Well, here I am Queen."

"Queen, huh?"

He did admit that the smell of the meat as it began to sizzle was quite the aroma, plus from where he was sitting across the fire he could look upon Tsubasa as framed by firelight, all her skin on display save for the bits covered by her swimsuit. She had a look of concentration as she worked, and he could almost feel her willing the food she was preparing to turn out well. When she was satisfied with the start she leaned back and opened the cooler again pulling out a bottle without a label and tossing it to him. He glanced at it. "Beer?"

"Maou, no." Tsubasa shook her head "Kaichou would turn my ass crimson if I was drinking underage. No, this is a Root Beer that I order from the underworld." She opened the bottle with an easy twist and took a long sip, Ichigo followed suit and found the taste quite strong, but pleasant.

For a time as the food cooked they were silent, but it was a comfortable one. He watched her work her magic on the simple fare, noting her enjoyment in the activity. That kind of focus he found in his morning exercises. The view of her leaning over in her swimsuit was also quite pleasant. Both of them seemed to have decided that, for the duration of this date, eating the eye candy was fine.

"So what kind of people are your family?"

She looked up at him, pausing to take in his muscled chest. "What kind of people are yours?" She countered.

"My dad is a single father who both ran a clinic and raised three children after my mother died. My baby sisters are growing up much faster than I like, going through puberty and getting interested in boys." He shook his head. "It's another good reason I'm here and not there. It, hopefully, will give them time to develop without me succumbing to the temptation of interfering. I told Levi-tan that I was proud to watch them grow up and become their own person...doesn't mean the temptation to interfere is not there."

He looked over at the girl, who let out a sigh. "My mom left when I was little, she got pregnant again and I think dad suspected the baby was not his. I was young and he does not talk about it. She moved to the States and I have not seen her since. Dad is a...strict man, but fair. He was supportive when I wanted to play sports, but insisted I be the best if I did so. I think the only time I have ever seen him smile was when I got accepted into Kuoh Academy and, given that Kaichou makes sure we have every incentive to excel including her direct help when necessary, he has let me get away with a little more when it comes to school."

"I take it he does not know about this date?"

"Maou, no. I think he is trying to find a man he approves of and trusts to arrange something." She sighed. "He is very old fashion that way, but if that ever comes around he is going to be disappointed as I seem to have grown a spine these past few years."

"Did he have you learn martial arts as well?"

"Yes, he insisted on that and I enjoyed it as much as any sport."

"You know, I saw you once before I came here."

"What?"

He smiled. "One of my friends was competing in a tournament, she broke her arm but continued to the final match."

"That girl was your friend!" Tsubasa laughed. "That girl was crazy! I still almost lost to her even with her handicap."

"To be fair, you did make a point not to involve said arm."

"That would have been dishonorable, plus it could have been my cunning long term plan to ensure you would like me."

"That would be Aizen levels of bullshit."

"Who?"

"A man I had to fight and given the time I have had to think about what happened I'm not sure he did not let me win."

"I still don't get the joke."

"He told me, and I believed him, that every major event in my life was his doing, that all my strength, all the times I survived things that should have destroyed me was all so that he would have a person to go all out on when he won. I sometimes wonder if he was trying to make a person capable of understanding him, but I have no idea if that is true. The point being that man had plans that were ridiculously complex and long reaching that Soul Society might still be trying to unravel it."

"Soul Society?"

He sighed. "Better get comfortable, this will be a long story."

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Blue light flared in the council room as the two devils returned from their date. Naturally they had both redressed in the normal school uniform and given how late it was no one seemed to be at the school. Well except for the Occult club house, he could sense the presence of Akeno, Asia and Rias in the place all in the same room. "Really?" he whispered. "Couldn't wait a week?"

Tsubasa looked at him confused. "Bouchou is attempting to recruit someone….I mean it would not be bad for Asia, but still." He sighed, it was not his job to run the girl's life and she seemed to have a real connection with Akeno, and him to a lesser extent.

"Well it is her choice." He said at last and was shocked at how good it felt to release a little self imposed responsibility. Protecting her was his charge and if she wanted to stay and even became a member of one of his peerages then all the better. Despite the changes, this was not the worst environment for finding friends and one's place in the world. "So am I taking you home?"

"Oh, Maou no. I don't even know what my dad would do." She said with a shudder.

"Ok." He understood that kind of emotion, after all he was putting off telling his dad something important too, at least until he saw them again. "Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow."

"Yep, it's our turn to get to train with you." She walked up to him and kissed him quickly on the cheek and with a last flushed smile turned and ran out of the room. He stood there for a moment basking in the feel of that moment before letting out a sigh and moving to make his own way home.

At the gates of the school he paused to send his senses towards the occult club. Would tonight be the night that Rias made the offer? Or was this a set up for some other time, she knew how to play the slow game. His senses brushed over them and he could feel one of her Evil Pieces sitting on the coffee table, well guess that answered that. She must have been confident for that to be the case. He made a decision, walking over to the Club House and leaning against the wall his eyes closed. He could not hear what was being said, only feeling the various energies in the room, the souls of the three, the Evil Piece. Asia was close to Akeno he could tell that much, beyond that nothing.

So he waited, feeling time slip away in his semi-focused state, his senses on the people behind him, his thoughts on the ones far away. He almost did not realise how far he was casting his mind reaching further and further out until individual souls seemed like campfire sparks. Ichigo did not know how many miles out of the city his thoughts had gone and with an effort of will his senses snapped back to his real ones, Asia was holding the evil piece through there had been no change in her yet.

He was broken out of his thoughts when a voice sounded in his mind through the communication ability of the King. "Ichigo?"

"Sona" he replied "What do you need?"

"Its Nine PM and you are not home yet." It was?

"Ah, yes, I am standing guard."

"What?"

He sense a slight chuckle. "Bouchou is...recruiting and I am sort of standing in front of the clubhouse, though I will cop to mostly being curious."

"Hmm, Rias has not mentioned any prospects to me, who is she attempting to recruit?" This was where things were odd with him being in two peerages, however the two were friends as well as rivals. "The former Nun I took of the street."

"The one with the unknown Sacred Gear?" he gave an affirmative gave her the quick version of what they had found out.

"So what your telling me is that my rival has a healer now?"

"Asia has not chosen to join yet, but," he shrugged even if Sona could not see it, "Yes I think she might do it."

There was an audible sigh across the link "And my rival gains yet another advantage, I really need to up my game. On an unrelated matter why were you and Tsubasa using my teleportation circle?"

Well, guess she could sense that. "We went on a date." There was another pause. "I see…." There was a breath. "I am going to have to talk with that girl….and the other one." Ichigo kept quiet. Struck again by the oddness of this situation and how he was reacting to this. At just how being a devil changed him, he was starting to look back over his whole life and try and find where he had changed. He had never been human so what, if any, difference did that make on him. His drive to protect? His desire for power? Sona interrupted his musing "Are you planning on come home soon?"

"Yes, after this is over…" his mouth quirked as he realized that he thought of her home as his own...when had that happened? "Yes, I will come home later."

"Oh." There was a mix of emotions in that statement, a heat, joy, and simple happiness. "Well then, I will be here." The link clicked off.

Behind him he felt a shift, the sense of a soul changing forever, watching the power of the Evil Piece enter the soul and power welled and flowed from the small Piece. Blackness spread over the blue swallowing it seeping into it shifting the hue to a purple. Though only for a moment before a brilliant green replaced the color, and that was that her soul had been changed, her body had been changed, she was now one of them.

Ichigo opened his eyes and smiled, if that was the case then he was fine with it. He shoved off the clubhouse wall with his shoulders and leapt skyward, he needed to get home one made sweeter because Sona was there waiting for him. Red colored his cheeks as he flew into the night through no one could have seen it and that made it alright.

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Not the most exciting chapter I know but I had to set a few things, get a date out of the way, give an Idea of how Ichigo's influence on both Peerages will effect what they become. ECT

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed it.

Fanboy913


	16. Chapter 15

New Chapter woot, woot,

Again thank you Aroneden for helping me with my grammar, believe me when I say that my story would be a lot worse without the help, I do not know if it is a Psyc problem but I have always had trouble with grammar and spelling, no matter how hard I tried.

Oh well, I made it though college with copious amounts of trips to the writing lab and here I am.

Anyway hope you all enjoy.

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Sona Sitri could not remember the last time she had felt exhausted to the point of collapse, why one might ask was she exhausted? Because as it turned out the boy she was interested in was quite the slave driver when it came to training. Not that he was telling her to do anything given her position, but given how ragged he was running the rest of her peerage she had decided to throw herself into attempting to replicate his High-speed movement technique. They had spent the entire morning in deep conversion about it, how it worked, what it did, and the thought of being able to replicate such an ability was exciting.

So, while her peerage worked, she did too, turning her considerable power to experiment with magic and focusing it on this one problem. What she quickly figured out was there was a fundamental difference in how his power worked compared to hers. She theorized that there was some sort of inborn process that did a good deal of the work for this Flash Step. Given how he described it and some of the more important processes such as, air resistance, friction reduction, and half a dozen other factors seemed to be a non issue. She had him do it in front of her several times before she hit upon another breakthrough not that it helped much...his powers did not follow any of the laws of magic or physics as she knew it.

He had described it as a spiritual, or soul power so it was possible that, if taken literally, his power did not need to bother with such things as physics or even reality itself. There were Devil powers that were similar in how absolute they were, the Power of Destruction, the regeneration of the Phenex, powers that surpassed reality with what they could do. It would have been easier if she could sense and study his power, but that seemed to be out of the question for now.

So it left her with the conclusion that a complete replication of his ability was impossible, but the focus the question had forced her into had given birth to several ideas, possible spells that might be able to so something like the Flash Step. If she could make the rules of magic work in some way like the ability he described, it would be a serious advancement, a spell cast in a second that allowed high speed movement...that would be something to be known for, to be sought out for.

She looked up through her hair slick with her own sweat as Tomoe limped over to her, the girl's normally cheerful face was downcast and that alone was enough to raise her concern for a member of her family. "Tomoe," she said, gently wiping the hair out of her own eyes, "What's wrong?"

"I, uh….um...do you think he is mad at me?"

"For telling him you could not teach him the sword?"

The girl nodded miserably and Sona was reminded of several times before when Tomoe had told people no on something. The girl hated to disappoint people, though she was willing to do so if she thought it right. Ichigo had asked her about some teaching and the girl had told him that as she had seen him fighting that she felt any training he could get from her would be a detriment. And that he should find someone closer to his own level. Ichigo had seemed to go deep into thought for a few moments before nodding that he understood and moving on with his day.

"Ichigo?" She said through a communication spell, though she made sure everyone could hear.

"What?" was his kurt reply.

"Are you angry at Tomoe?"

"...What for?" He sounded genuinely confused. "Ah," he said after a moment, "Tomoe you better get back here or I will be angry that you are skipping training!" Sona watched the girl smile at that, watching the fear drain away, and the girl bounced off, back to the hellish work that awaited her.

"Issei get back up, you will never get anywhere near strong enough for realizing your dream if you wimp out now."

Sona shook her head. Issei was the one member of his other peerage whom he had brought along, explaining that he was trying to speedrun him into something resembling fighting shape. There had been no complaining from the boy at what was demanded of him, even if he was simply a reincarnated Devil with a lucky break of a sacred gear, he had will at the very least.

"Any progress?" Ichigo asked as he moved to stand next to her. Soaked as he was in his own sweat he had a powerful smell and not in the good way.

"Some," she allowed herself to say, "But I will have to see where it takes me."

Ichigo nodded. "That is good, I have been meaning to ask your advice on something, though I only just remembered."

Sona stood up and turned her full attention to him. "What?"

"Tonight I am going to go on my first contract and one that might possibly be a monster hunt."

"Are you going by yourself?" she asked.

"No, it's me and Koneko. This is sort of a training of my own about how to deal with contracts. My question involves the stories about such bargains. As far as I can tell the general thought by normal people is that we can do a whole lot more than we actually can."

"Such as?"

"Bringing back the dead, making someone instantly wealthy, granting them supernatural powers ect."

Sona smiled, "Some can do most of those things. My father, for example, can grant a limited form of immortality, the 'Won't die but can be killed' model. Some Devils have no problem with robbing a bank, for many it just depends on what the person has to offer. There are many ways to accomplish a goal, plus you can always say that you can't do that."

"Well, that is a relief."

He glanced up. "Better get back to them, Saji is complaining again and Ruruko is trying to score points by giving him an ear to mutter into...and Momo is coming over." He left her side in a blur of motion.

She shook her head, Sona would have to make sure she did the next training session otherwise she might grow dependent. Plus, except Tsubasa, her peerage did not look like they would take his regime multiple times. It helped that he was doing everything alongside them, and she herself knew his morning routine had been particularly brutal. It made a healthy teenage girl wonder if that stamina could be turned to a more pleasant use...it also made that same teenage girl go red from the thought. But, as her sister would say, such was life.

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One thing Ichigo had to say about the Occult club was that whoever decided to install a shower was a genius. The ability to leave a harsh day of training and come back to a building with a perfect place to rinse off all the sweat, dirt and grime was inspired. This was especially good given that he was going on his first contract and the time to relax in the hot water was welcome.

The one difference between him using it and seemingly everyone else was that he closed the freaking door to the room before he turned on the water. In his time here there had been at least twelve times he had walked into the main club room only to find either Rias or Akeno in the shower casting curvy, distracting shadows across the room. Each time he had closed the door himself, earning giggles each time. So he made it a point to use the door for its intended purpose each time he took advantage of the shower. It was odd that he felt he actually had to worry about being spied on.

He emerged from the shower refreshed and, after dressing, opened to door to find himself no longer the only person in the building. Koneko was there, sitting on the couch, eating a lollipop...just like the first time he had seen her only a few months ago. The image brought a smile to his face as he walked over to take a seat beside her. Her gold eyes flicked to him, her small nose twitching. "You smell nice."

"I smell like soap."

"Exactly."

He put his hand over his heart. "Are you telling me I smell bad normally, Koneko-chan?"

"You smell," she said, with the weight of a food critic, "Like a man most of the time."

"Well, can't argue with that. I suppose death is the only cure for such a thing."

"No, that makes you smell worse."

The both shared a chuckle. "So when are we going?"

The girl pulled out the candy staring at its cherry core. "When I finish this." Her words were serious and measured. She did not do anything with it that might have been suggestive, not like you might see in some anime. Koneko simply took her time enjoying her treat as only a lover of sweets could.

He lifted his hand and began to gently scratch her head, his fingers moving through her white locks and drawing a purr of pleasure from her throat. The motion felt relaxing, almost as much as the shower. It was also kind of funny as Koneko tried to both eat her candy slowly yet also push her head into his moving fingers. She sent him a glare at the sight of his wry grin but after pulling away for a moment decided the scratching was worth more than her pride...for now. Ichigo had no intention of pushing anyone too far. He wondered if being a Devil made teasing others, as he had once been, so fun.

The candy crunched as she finished it with a gulp, and on impulse he moved his other hand under her chin and began to scratch there as well. Koneko went rigid and a cute sound escaped her lips, sounding almost like a moan. She did not pull away, rather she seemed to melt under the combined gentle sensations. Ichigo froze as he noted sweat bead on her forehead and something burn in her eye, her spiritual energy shifted violently for the briefest moment.

The sudden stop had her lidded gaze zero in on him, like a predator. But it was only for that moment. Her soul quieted and her gaze lost its fire becoming the gold he had grown used to. "Please don't stop, you just caught me off guard the first time." She shuddered and he wondered just how he had caught her off guard and what had slipped. But if she did not want to talk about it...he started again and this time there was no odd sensation through her purring, and yes he was sure it was purring now, had started up at full force. He gave her a whole minute of that attention before gently letting go and nodding in the direction of the teleportation circle. Koneko sighed and nodded standing up and pulling him after her with effortless strength. They stepped onto the circle and red light flared, something seemed to twist and….and he was somewhere else.

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The first thing that he noticed was the mist that gently rose from the forest floor. They stood at the first step of a staircase of stone carved into the side of a hill. Ichigo glanced at Koneko who shrugged and nodded her head in the direction of the hill.

Something about this place demanded silence. At the first step upon the stone there was a glowing blue mote that drifted across the path. Koneko did not seem to notice and Ichigo watched the thing resolve into the plus of a young girl. She looked at him and seemed to freeze in pure terror when she realised he was looking back and then fled in a blaze of blue motes.

Ichigo took in a breath, already on edge. Side by side they walked up the steps and as they did so more motes of blue light began to drift closer only to flee when he looked at them. Koneko, he noted, seemed to have noticed his bearing and her hair seemed to be standing on end. But other than that she made no sign of noticing what he saw.

Higher and higher they walked and more and more motes began to gather. A buzzing sound seemed to grind on the edge of his senses, something like angry voices slowly rising in volume. More and more the sound rose the higher they got and leaves and sticks began to float skyward as dozens upon dozens of hate filled gazes locked on him.

Koneko tensed. Even being unable to see what was going on spiritually, the visible evidence of a disturbance was obvious. The top most step came into sight and that seemed to be the breaking point as dozens became hundreds. The angry voices became a roar and like a flood they surged forward. Ichigo narrowed his eyes drawing power from his soul and released it in a silent wave his eyes flashing blue. It lashed out from him in a wave of power and the pluses slammed into the shockwave like it was a physical wall. They were blasted back some sent spinning, others blast apart into blue motes, for Ichigo Kurosaki this was a first. He had never heard a story of any other Shinigami being attacked by pluses.

The ones that remained fled from him, in their screams of terror a grating noise that made one want to grind their teeth. "What happened?" Koneko said as the sticks and leaves fell to the ground.

"I don't know." He replied as they reached the top step. There was a Torii gate at the top of the steps and it hummed with power, pressing against him but not stopping him. Koneko did not seem to be affected as they stopped through and….into what was a sunny evening. Ichigo turned around looking back down at a well lit forest path, not the dark mist filled one they had ascended. He turned to see a temple with several rooms and buildings each well maintained. The sudden change and sharp contrast was enough to make one's head spin, and Koneko looked just as confused.

"You know," an old woman's voice said, "I thought Shinigami couldn't become Devils." Both of them looked to see an old woman, small, perhaps as small as Koneko. She wore a gi covered by a red vest-like garment that went down to her knees belted on by a green belt. Her hair fell about her shoulders in a grey wave with brown eyes like the bark of a tree. They were sharp and intent, Ichigo forced back a shuder. The last person he had seen with eyes like that….had been Aizen. "Also, that barrier should have stopped you, though I suppose it was not meant for that kind of hybrid."

Koneko gave him a quizzical look before deciding to take control of the situation. "Sensei," she said with a bow, "Are you the one who had called us for this contract?"

The women quirked a smile as she rose from her seat. Despite her clear age she walked with a strong and purposeful gait. "Yes, child, but do not interrupt." The words were spoken with a blunt harshness that caused Koneko's mouth the snap shut. "I asked you a question, boy." she said coming closer.

"I was not aware of that fact." Ichigo said.

"Hmm," she walked down from her temple and across the courtyard, eyes still on him. "Is that so? Well Karma is always an interesting wench, to surprise an old woman like myself." She seemed to have no fear of him as she walked right up to him her hand coming up to rest on his belly. There was a flare and suddenly he could sense her, sense the power of her soul burning like no other human he had ever met. It burned strong and bright, utterly, tightly controlled but deeper than it had any right to be. It was not the power of a Captain, but perhaps Vice Captain if he had the averages right. However strong she was her power shifted to resonate with his own, he drew back sharply, on guard.

But the woman simply blinked at him, looking down at her hand which glowed with reiatsu reflected in her brown eyes was the campfire-like sparks of blue before her power faded and it seemed that the power of her soul simply vanished from all senses. "Well. It seems this meeting will be worth something after all, even if you do not complete my task." She turned around. "Follow me devils."

"I am Koneko."

"I know who you are child, I know what you are as well….can't say the same for your dim witted friend here." Ichigo did not react to the words, still on guard and confused as to what she wanted to accomplish. He did not feel different, nothing seemed to have changed, Zangetsu had not said anything about effects on his soul. "You two can refer to me as Sensei. That is all I have been called for the past forty years and it will do."

The door opened of its own accord and she led them into...what seemed like a very cozy home. There was couch, a tv, a game set, rooms that might have been bed and guest areas, a kitchen and lastly a table with three mugs of tea, steaming and ready for consumption.

Sensei knelt with a gentle grace and both of them did the same. She took the cup in her hands and gently sipped at the steaming liquid before looking back up. Ichigo himself took a draft of the bitter liquid and found its mellow aftertaste more than enough to make up for the initial shock. Koneko blew on her cup gently, wisps of steam playing around her nose and cheeks before she to took a sip.

It was cute as her face scrunched up in distaste, as a lover of sweets it must have been much harder for her. Ichigo could tell when the aftertaste hit as her expression lessoned. "Drink it all child, it will help with your growth." Sensei commented before turning her gaze fully back to him. "What are you?" She asked her tone utterly unrepentant. There was no good answer to that, none at all. If the silent response bothered her, she did not show it. Koneko bristled at her, but Ichigo shook his head.

The old woman just smiled. "Well, it does not matter." She took another sip of her tea. "A Stray has moved onto my land and it brought friends, I want them gone." Ichigo studied the woman as she said that, wondering why she had not done it herself. It must have been written on his face because she narrowed her eyes. "Because I'm old, dumbass. Mortals are not blessed with as long a life as your kind...or rather her kind."

Ichigo raised his hands. "Sorry."

"Hmm." the women glared at him for a few moments before turning away muttering about brats expecting their elders to do everything. She took a few more sips as both devil's did their best to finish the tea at her pace. "Just go out the back and keep walking," she told them as the cups were emptied, "You will find where they are soon enough."

"May I ask a question?" Ichigo asked before he stood.

"What?"

"Why did the light change when we passed the gate?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "I would have thought it was obvious, Dumbass. You think Devils are the only ones who can create pocket realms?" She made a sharp gesture around her. "This is my retirement that I forged with my own hand. That is why I find myself annoyed that five trespassers decided to make this place there home."

"Have they tried to attack you?" Koneko asked frowning.

"Child I am a Psychic, exorcist, and monster slayer," Sensei chuckled, "They were eight when they started, now they are five. As I said, I have no desire to stretch my old bones and hunt them down myself," Her smile was shark like, "Plus there is a symmetry to having Devil's deal with a Devil problem."

Koneko nodded. "We will get on it."

"Good." The woman stood up and moved past them with a gentle limp. Ichigo watched her leave the room without another thought or glance in their direction.

"I don't like her." Koneko said.

"She did not seem too bad." Ichigo replied. "Shall we get this done?" She nodded and began to make her way out the back. "Are you just going to wear the school uniform when fighting?"

That got him a wicked smile and her seeming annoyance at the women called Sensei vanished. She did not answer him with words, rather just a wink, before continuing on.

The backyard led out to a single path, leading to a large, lush forest. The wind almost made music as it drifted through the trees. The lushness around them seemed almost out of place in this area of Japan. "What did she mean by pocket realms?" Ichigo said, considering more fully the words she had spoken.

"I think she means that she has a place like similar to where Devil's fight rating games, though from what I understand it was something a Maou had to create." Koneko gave the area around them a skeptical look. "For a human to do it would require a sacred gear or...something else."

If that was the case, perhaps it has something to do with her spiritual pressure, the sure sign of her spiritual power. Even now he could sense her and knew she could sense them, in fact she felt closer to them than her body did, which Ichigo was not sure how to categorize.

"There are no animals in this forest." Koneko said. "I can smell death on the wind, it stands at odds with the verdant trees." Her eyes narrowed. "It seems the stray's have fallen far if they are simply eating anything that moves."

"As opposed to eating the humans?"

Koneko winced. "I did not mean..."

"I know." Ichigo replied, most of his senses beyond himself, spread out over this forest and she was quite right in that there was not a single hint of spiritual energy. No sense of life at all, save for the trees and the grass, but that was more of a background sensation. The last Stray he had dealt with was one he had been able to sense so he did not see why this would be any different.

"Do you know anything about this woman?" Ichigo asked into the silence.

Koneko shook her head. "No, this request came to Bouchou directly, asking for me by name."

"What?"

"That in and of itself is not uncommon, you can make a name for yourself in occult circles, but given what we have seen I have no idea how she knew to ask for me." Koneko hesitated before shaking her head. "I have never heard of a human like her, and she does not seem to be with the Church."

"Seemed like more of a Daoist to me."

"Yes, but you would think if she was all those things she claimed I might have heard of her." She let out a sigh and Ichigo put a hand on her head, mussing her hair gently. "That's ok, this world is huge and has hit me enough times that I can say with confidence, there is always a surprise."

"Oh, and has the world hit you with?"

"Besides the recent?"

"Well...yes."

"Hmm, I'm gonna go with a toddlers turing into supermodels." He nodded, wondering in that moment how Nel was doing in Hueco Mundo, before forcing his mind back to the present. "Next to that...well, as it turned out I was never human to begin with."

Koneko frowned. "She said she did not know what you were."

"To be fair, neither do I, at least as to the question of what I am." His eyes flashed blue. "I know exactly who I am and that is far more important."

"I wonder what I am."

Ichigo almost paused in mid step at hearing that. Glancing down at the girl her eyes had a distance in them, something he had not seen before in her. Those words meant something, and he wondered if she realised she had said them aloud. This girl, this small girl, who he had come to like, who….might already be something more. She was carrying pain, a feeling he could understand.

Her eyes focused and flicked up to him noting his scrutiny of her, and under that gaze her cheeks turned pink...it was adorable. She bristled at his sudden smile and swatted at his nose like she had a paw. He titled his head back to avoid the blow and she glared at him cheeks puffing. "I'm not cute, I'm beautiful." She told him.

"You can be both."

"Cute is for kids, I am a teenage girl."

"I disagree, but I will not argue." he mussed her hair again causing her glare to fade as a haze of pleasure had her on her tiptoes pusing into his hand. "I'm here for you Koneko, just as you are for me. If you ever want to talk, I will listen."

"I know you will, but there are some things that you have to deal with on your own."

There was a moment of clarity at that statement. Ichigo had been going to agree with her but...when had he ever been on his own? Zangetsu, White, his Quincy blood, they might have been a part of him but they had their own minds, their own power...he had never truly been alone. Even with his power broken, even if he could not feel or sense them, they had been been there. White was still asleep, he could tell that. Resting, waiting for something, perhaps for the time when Ichigo would call on his Zanpakuto once more. When he would speak the name of Zangetsu, and….speak the words. That was odd, Zangetsu had not needed words the first time. Every other Zanpakuto release had required it, but not his. His had never been anything but released, what were the words he would….

" _Worry not you will know them when you need them."_ Zangetsu spoke into his mind for the first time in days.

"Old man?" He thought at him.

" _I am doing well, though I am not ready to speak about what we must speak of, not yet. You must first awaken your new power, the Devil power. You must master the Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Bow) and the Blut (Blood Dress), for the these two you should ask the woman when you finish helping her."_

"Why?"

" _Did you not notice Ichigo?"_

He went back over the moment of sensation, the instant he had felt her power but he could find nothing, "She felt like a shinigami." he said aloud drawing a look from Koneko.

" _There was more to her than that, but it is not my place to tell you. I only advise that when this is done you ask for her help."_

With those words Zangetsu faded back into the depths of his soul leaving his user quite confused. "What is wrong?"

Ichigo shook his head. "Mentors giving vague advise." That got another blink of confusion from his partner. She opened her mouth to speak when Ichigo held up a hand, head focused forward. Something had brushed against the edge of his senses, a pressure that felt sad and wrong all at the same time. He glanced at Koneko who nodded in response. Both accelerated, the girl falling in behind him as he lead the way, the path they had been following stayed straight and true and it took some minutes to cross the forest's expanse. Throughout the whole trip there was an absence of the slightest sensation of life, no small animal, no bird, nothing. The wrongness of it began to seep into them and set their hair on end.

Finally and rather abruptly the forest ended and both pulled to a stop. The path had opened to a low plain which mist clung to like moss and the trail faded into wet swamp-like terrain. The feeling of wrongness was at its strongest here. This place had been saturated in death, was the thought that occurred to him now that he was here. Rusted weapons stuck out of the ground, dark, mud choked water roiled below them and a skull bubbled to the top before sinking low.

Koneko wrinkled her nose at the sight. "What is this?"

Ichigo had to suppress a shudder. "A battlefield." That, he was sure of, but what happened to have cause this or when it had been fought was beyond him. Given that this place seemed to be isolated from space, he was not all that surprised at the dozens more pluses hovering over the field of conflict. Many wore faded and destroyed armor, some had broken swords, many had seemed to have lost the skin on their faces. Glowing eyes looked upon them, many staring at the unknowing Koneko with hunger. But they made no move to them, in fact whenever they seemed to get a good look at him they made efforts to drift away, out of his range of sight.

But besides that, he felt nothing, no sense of the stray, no sense of life, not that anything normal would survive here long. "Well, we need to cross this." He took a step up, standing on the air. He glanced back at the girl who looked at him expectantly. "Really?" he teased. Her gold eyes narrowed at him. "Ok." He held up his hands in surrender before reaching down and grabbing her by her hips lifting her into his arms. She made a few adjustments to get comfortable and placed her head against his chest.

He began his walk above the traitorous marsh, which bubbled under the air he walked upon as if enraged that he had not set foot on it's soil. The pluses had all but vanished having felt his usage of spiritual power, seeming to have a concept of what that might mean about him. They were not hollows, not yet, but they were close. Something was holding that back and he had no idea what could...well, beyond personal willpower.

Koneko nuzzled his shirt, her eyes closed, body relaxed. She seemed more than happy to let him do the searching and honestly he was more that happy to hold her small, delightfully light form.

He paused, clearing his eyes of the fog again with a small pulse of Reiatsu. He was near the middle of the battlefield, but nothing seemed to be active. With an effort he jumped skyward about one hundred feet to get a better view, where he quickly learned that the mist which clung to the earth was simply too effective at blocking his sight.

With a growl of annoyance he shot forward, crossing the rest of the marsh in seconds. Gently he lowered them to the solid ground. The marsh ended in rough, rocky, but passable terrain. Now that he was beyond the mist he could see a respectable sized rock, nothing he would call a mountain, but more than a hill. It was distant perhaps over a mile away, but it looked like as good a landmark as any.

"Do you smell that?" Koneko asked.

His nose picked up nothing but marsh stink. "No." he replied.

"Blood," she said and with a gentle effort slipped out of his arms while sniffing the air, "This way."

Koneko proved to be quite nimble in how she navigated the rocks, an almost animal-like agility that Ichigo would have found hard to match if he had not been creating air platforms using the spirit walk. His peerage-mate did not seem to notice as she paused over a smooth dome-like stone and bent over to point out a streak of fading color. The remnants of what it had been were hard for his eyes to tell, but Koneko seemed sure as she paused next to it then moved about twenty yards to another spot. "Claw marks." She pointed out a gash in the stone, some of the rust color of dried blood was there as well.

Ichigo moved over to a pile of scattered rocks picking one up. "Battle Damage." He said.

Koneko walked over. "Not strength based, magic perhaps. So a Bishop Stray at least." They followed the trail of battle and blood, the damage becoming more pronounced and some of the rock shards had been glassed by the power that had struck them. The air gained the faint scent of ozone and both followed it over more rocks with ever increasing amounts of dried blood.

The landscape opened to reveal a fissure in the ground about twenty feet deep. On their side a section of the rock had been blasted away, causing a miniature rockslide into the rent in the rock. Koneko looked over and her face turned a little green, and when he got a look at it he had to force the urge to look away out of his thoughts.

On top of the pile was a broken body of what had once been a Stray Devil, its mutations were clear even now. Where one hand had been was not horribly oversized talons as long as a short sword and what they could see of the face showed teeth far too large and digging into the bone of the face. But what had Koneko retching was its state, part of its face had been burned clean off and its left arm was missing completely.

Ichigo dropped down to get a better look. The smell up close was horrifying, but he pushed through it. Something had torn open its chest and had devoured what had been inside along with most of the skin. A leg had been picked clean and teeth marks showed where its killer had worried at it like a dog, its other leg had been torn off and was also missing.

With a single jump he was out of the fissure and into fresh air. Koneko herself had not been idle, she had crossed the opening and found where the attacker had gone. "The killer must be reaching the end of its sanity if it turned upon its fellows." She looked away and shuddered. "It won't be able to get much in the way of sustenance it requires for sanity, but it will be stronger."

The trail led them in a curving gait taking them closer to the large rock in the distance. "How often does this happen?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"No one is sure. Peerages often try to keep such things a secret and deal with it among themselves. And it is a King's choice if they report it at all. There is a shame and stigma attached to such actions, plus not all strays will become like this. If they are strong enough they can sustain themselves in the mortal world without the hunger setting in. I think everyone in our Peerage falls into to that category, even Blue Balls, though that is because his sacred gear."

"Well, that is good to know." He himself was sustained by his soul and thus had no fear of whatever happened to Devils who ran out of power. But it was still something he did not fully understand, did this sort of thing happen to angels too?... The Fallen perhaps or did they have a different method.

Koneko gagged suddenly and shoved her hand over her nose and mouth. "Maou, that stench." She whined. They had to get closer before the putrid scent slammed into his senses as well. He almost rocked back and found it very hard to find the motivation to keep going.

They found the source a few hundred feet later. Whatever this Devil had been was long gone. It had grown to the size of a bull elephant with what looked to have been short, squat legs. Its serpentine neck ended in a worm-like head of spanning teeth. The rot was most awful here, the Stray dead for at least days, if not weeks. Its insides looked to have been hollowed out by its killer, the snake like neck had been blasted from the body by fire, and the remaining flesh had rotted and dripped off the bones like cooked fat.

What was worse was something stirred within the hollowed belly, under the rotted flesh. The trail they had been following ended at the hole eaten into its chest. Ichigo could still sense nothing...then it hit him. He sensed souls, but what if there was no soul left to sense.

"Yes," a voice rasped, "I can smell you." A long white arm with nails blacker than pitch emerged from the filth. It sank into the rock and began to pull. "So much soul, all for me, all for pretty, pretty me." The arm tensed and pulled, drawing a body out of the rotten meat. It looked small and emaciated compared to the three arms growing out of it's back. Each arm seemed longer than the body itself, each bulging with muscle, completely at odds with the red thin arms and legs of the original body. Ribs pressed out against strained, paper-thin skin. Pitch black hair covered the eyes and face from which the voice emerged. "Hunger, I hunger so much." It whined.

The arms were spread out, one going over each shoulder, the third going back between its legs, each one with the same black nails that pierced stone with ease. The body itself did not move at all, rather the arms acted as its legs and the limp body they sprang from simply moved along with it. "The opposite of cold is heat, the difference is only in degree, this is the law of polarity."

"Magic!" Koneko screamed, just as the world went red as fire just erupted into existence. Ichigo reacted faster than thought, grabbing Koneko and simply moving them several hundred yards away with a Flash Step. His armor and sealed Zangetsu formed at his mental command.

The Stray screamed in outrage and it launched off the ground, its arms throwing itself several hundred feet in the air. It screamed words at them and thanks to the Devil's language power he understood. The words were an invocation to someone called Boreas and shards of razor sharp ice formed and shot off like bullets at them. Ichigo raised his hand and blue light in the shape of Zangetsu's tsuba spun to life, spinning fast enough to give the impression of a solid circle. Koneko stepped behind him without being told and the ice shattered on contact.

The words changed as the stray invoked the name of Titan and smashed down into the earth near them, a fissure opening as if to swallow them. They both leapt away, splitting up. Ichigo used the Spirit Walk to hurl himself at a good angle to attack and hurled the spinning shield at the Stray. "Principle of Vibration!" the creature snarled. There was a loud humming and the shield seemed to waver and vanished feet from the creature.

One of its arms went old school and tore a rock from the ground and hurled it at him hard enough to cause a sonic boom. Ichigo vanished before the rock could find a home in his skull. He appeared next to the thing and Zangetsu flashed down. One of the arms blocked and though the blade bit deep the damage seemed minimal at best. "Principle of Correspondence!" It howled and Ichigo found himself flying back, struck by an invisible force.

The creature spun to face him, an invocation to Agni on its lips. That was when Koneko exploded from the rock underneath the creature. She must have followed the fissure to it and her foot sank into the body's chest, shattering ribs and drawing a pained gasp. The arms went wild, trying to pound her to dust, but she managed to roll free with only a blow to her shoulder for her troubles and a glancing one at that. The creature's head snapped to its latest attacker and rushed after her. Koneko stomped the ground hard enough to send up a solid wall from the ground, blocking its path.

The moment of pause was enough for Ichigo to reach it and, with one hand, grab ahold of its oversized arm and, with a snarl of effort, launch it skyward. It did not seem to have its wings and Ichigo had the Spirit Walk. Helpless in its mid air tumble he threw himself after it. "Principle of Vibration!" It snarled and there was a strain on his body as something tried to press into him. His will and soul hardened at once in response to the assault and the spell failed.

He avoided the flailing arms, slipping past the defence and burying Zangetsu deep in its weak body. "Getsuga," he howled, "Tenshou!" Light exploded out the strays back and its scream became a gurgle of agony. An arm caught hold of his leg and as it spun it hurled him groundward. Blue lights shone in his veins as he hit hard and yet the Blut and the armor cushioned the blow to almost insignificance.

The torrent of lightning that spun from the creature was another matter, prompting him to reform his shield, though the savage bolts almost broke it on contact. He put more of his power into it, reinforcing the construct with his soul.

The lighting abruptly ended as a bolder slammed into the Stray courtesy of Koneko who flashed down from the sky wings extended into a drop kick with both feet firmly planted on the Strays frail body. The impact shattered stone and flattened the body like a beer can. The arms did not seem to be affected by that as Koneko blocked one, twisted away from another and caught a hold of the third.

As another moved to strike Ichigo pointed his wrist cannon, aiming from his spot on the ground. Channeling both a Quincy Heilig Pfeil and a Getsuga Tenshou through the barrel. The wrist mount shattered into spirit particles as a tightly focused bolt of pure radiance shot out and blew the arm off at the elbow. Koneko twisted her body at the same time, hauling with her considerable strength and, with the sounds of bones snapping, tore the arm she was holding free.

The body fell to the ground the last arm flopping uselessly. "This is the Principle of Mentality," It's voice said, in a sudden, utter calm, "I am the idea of energy given form, now I am the idea of energy with no form."

Instinct warned him and he flashed over to Koneko and covered her body with his own. A bare heartbeat after he did so the world when white as an explosion picked him up and threw him away, shattering the back of his armor and even piecing his Blut in places. That event was followed by Ichigo finding himself slammed against the large rock's face and held there by the explosion. When the moment passed he was falling, but managed to slow them with his Devil wings, which extended at his command.

Slowly his hearing returned, in time with the thumping of his head. "You ok?" Koneko blinked up at him, a trickle of blood running down her forehead.

"Mostly." She gasped out, then blinked a few more times, that was when bits of stray began to rain down from the sky.

"Eww." Koneko groaned.

"I wonder if the old women will let us use her baths?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

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Ichigo sighed as he dunked himself into the steaming water. You would have thought Sensei would have been happy that they had completed her request, but no...they had gotten an earful from the bat the moment they returned as she berated them for destroying her property and being half assed about their work. She had still been tearing into them as she pushed them into separate hot spring baths and told to rid themselves of that horrid stench.

So, all in all, he was not sure if she was angry or not, but it had not helped his headache in the slightest. This piping hot water, on the other hand, was another matter. He had spent a good ten minutes scrubbing himself down before stepping foot in the hotspring. Now he took his time relaxing. He could sense Koneko and the woman called Sensei were both in a separate spring and, from the sound of it, were having a normal volume conversation.

Sensei's soul pulsed suddenly pressing against his senses, the manner akin to a slap for peeping and Ichigo pulled back his mind. Leaning back to luxuriate in the mineral water, it gave him time to think about the battle, what he had done, what he would do differently. Had he known of that self-destruction spell he would have gone Shikai and ended it in a moment. Which begged the question, why had he not done so yet...all he could really come up with was that it was not the right time. That the release of Zangetsu had to wait, for something, some moment. It was a little annoying, such certainty, he didn't even have the luxury of pretending that it was not real and pressing.

On a whim he closed his eyes and narrowed his focus. When he had gotten his powers back there had been a moment where he could sense everyone he cared out, everyone he loved in the breath of an instant. Even Rukia a world away had been there on the extreme edge of his sense. He tried to call that sense or power up his own but nothing he tried could get that range back up.

His eyes shot open when he heard a curtain stir, freshly dressed the woman called Sensei walked into the hot spring area. Her expression was one of calm serenity, she held her body in a loose manner and when she spoke her voice was deadly serious. In other words she was setting off every danger signal in his body. "I would like to ask you a question, and I expect an honest answer."

"What is this about?" Below the water his armor began to form, though he noted the damage it had taken, while not as bad as it had been, was still there.

"This is me deciding whether or not to kill you, Quincy." The word was spat more than said. "I was under the impression that a Quincy could not be reincarnated either, their connection to their Creator-God is too strong, so how are you here?"

"I don't know what that means, but I am not a pure Quincy."

Her head tilted. "I know that, dimwit."

A flash of annoyance crosses his face but he pushed it away. "I don't know what you would call me, I am unique and if I ever had a connection to this Quincy God it is severed. Something else severed it…." He looked up at her. "What are you?"

"I am the child of a psychic mother and a Quincy father. I lived my whole life avoiding the hollows, the souls, other Quincy, and of course the 'kill on sight' Shinigami. So you can imagine my annoyance when said Quincy God tries to tear my power out of my soul."

Ichigo blinked in confusion. "What?"

The old woman glared at him in annoyance. "Hey, I only recently learned that I had Quincy blood."

"So you are not here for me?"

"No."

"You have no plans for me?"

"I did not when I came in here, Zangetsu told me that I should ask for for help mastering my Quincy abilities." That got a frown from him, why in the hell had he said so much….why the hell was he saying so much?

"Your Zanpakuto told you that?"

"Yes, I think my mother was a Quincy and I know my dad why a Shinigami...why am I talking like this?"

"Hmm. you noticed, must have a strong mind." She held up her hand, fingers skyward and there was an odd wave of power, not spiritual, not devil, something else. She had called herself a psychic.

"I'm annoyed you managed to get a question off and I had to answer." She had relaxed and the sense of danger was gone. Ichigo let the armor fade though he was still on hyper alert. "What did you do?"

"I set my mind upon this place, and made it a place of absolute truth and understanding."

She took a seat one one of the stools looking tired more than anything. "That took more out of my old bones than I like to admit." She took a moment to rest herself. "So are you willing to give me your story? I promise that if it is a good one I will consider showing you enough to control yourself."

"You're an ass, you know that, right?" Ichigo said.

"That is one of the greatest privileges of being old, dimwit."

Ichigo sighed "Koneko, you might as well get in here so I don't have to explain it twice." There was a shuffling at the curtin before said Devil walked in, she wore only a towel and his eyes lingered on her freshly washed skin longer than he was proud of. "Ok….you know what, you could throw me some shorts and we can all just sit in the hot spring."

The women called Sensei snorted. "I'm tempted to forgo that, but even I'm not evil enough to force that scene upon you." She made a motion with her head. "Come on, I still have some things that would fit you." The Rook gave her a dark look of mistrust, but it only seemed to amuse the woman. "Do I need to tell your sister that she has to worry about kittens?" The words made her jolt in place.

"Sister?" Ichigo inquired.

"No." Was all Koneko said before fleeing the room.

Sensei chuckled and shook her head before following the Devil. Ichigo sighed and prepared himself once again to tell the story of a boy, a girl, and a sword through the heart.

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Hope you all enjoyed, I always found strays to be interesting as they seem to break a lot of dxd rules so you can do what you want with them.

Bonus points to any who knows the magic system I horribly bastardized for the stray to use.

To those who tell me what they do not like what I have done with the story, that is perfectly fine, I myself started writing fanficition because I wanted to change something or someone elses story did not go the way I would have done.

So if you find inspiration or you just cant stand what I write (Totally fine by the way, some of my early attempts at faction which is under a different hopefully dead name was terrible) Then I would advise you to make your own and have fun while doing it, to those who do like what I am doing I hope you enjoy yourself.

Have a good day

Fanboy913


	17. Chapter 16

**Alright here is the next chapter, hope you all enjoy, once again thank you to Aroneden for proofreading.**

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 _The boy moved through his sword from with the grace of an Artist as his father sat on his chair, his brush still writing as it had for the past two years. The boy did not begrudge his father his work, he well knew the man still watched him. As it was with those in this realm, he had not physically aged in a long time, but mentally his father had made sure he was growing. Even if he disapproved of the way, his father was a pacifist and hated fighting, hated killing, hated this pointless war to the point that he had sectioned himself off from his people. But he was also a man who did not press his will upon others, so when his son had sworn to protect him from whatever the Council had planned for him and failing to turn him from that path, the man had simply began to teach him how to do so. It was hard to remember that once upon a time the man had been the warrior whom had stood next to their God. That once upon a time, the boy's father and mother had been the greatest weapons of the King of Souls._

 _But that mattered little now, the boy traced the sword of blue light, a power of his own creation. His father had been surprised and perhaps even horrified to see him make it, he had never told the boy why and such an event had not happened again. Still, it left the nagging question in his mind, what had his father seen in this shaped construct of spiritual energy that had scared him. The man would not answer him, but it was safe to say that he loved him no matter what the boy did. Familiar questions ran through his mind, Was this power a dark one? Like the necromancers of the realms below, was it a danger to the universe like the Sealed Godbeast of Babel?, or perhaps it was simply something that no one had ever seen before, father had told him living creatures were like that with new things._

 _Even as those thoughts came and went he imagined them floating out of his mind and into the air before him and his glowing blade shredded the doubts and wonders, they had no place in training and even on this symbolic level he severed these doubts from him._

 _It was then he noted that his father had looked up from his book, his dark eyes watching him with great pride and even greater sorrow. He paused in his motions, his dark hair brushing across the front of his face. A sensation passed over him as all his fatigue and exhaustion faded away. A surge of warmth went over him at what that meant, his father rose up setting aside the book and ink began to drip from it more than was possible dripping then hanging in air forming a sword of shifting ink. The boy raised his blade, felt the pure delight surge through him, even the sad look in his father's eyes could not quell it. Both blurred into motion and blades clashed."_

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Ichigo found himself once again in the hall of stone, this time he was standing beside the living shadow. " **I have not thought of those memories in a long time.** " The darkness said to him, it's voice almost wistful.

"Were you the Father, or the Son?" Ichigo asked.

" **You will see in time, though I suspect you already know.** " Ichigo felt the shadow's full attention shift to him. " **You seem to have had an interesting time, I can sense the blood of another of my children on you, how odd.** "

Ichigo stared into the darkness unflinching. " **Are you the Quincy god?** "

" **Oh, how I hate that term!** " The darkness seemed to spin in place before its full regard returned. " **I am the Father of Quincy Kind, that is a much grander, much more meaningful term than god.** " A wind seemed to gather and spin within the room before it settled. " **Hmm, I sense anger in your question, or is suspicion?** " Ichigo did not know himself, some thought was tugging at the back of his mind, but he could not for the life of him bring it out. " **Well, it matters little anyway, you are not longer mine child. You have been claimed by another."** There was a shift in the darkness and two eyes emerged looking at him, or perhaps through him, it was an odd experience. " **The night of the full moon is neigh in the human world is it not?** "

Ichigo blinked. "What?"

" **Such is the time when Devil's bond their soul to another creature.** "

"What?" Ichigo said again.

" **Well it will not do for the flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood to have anything but the finest.** "

Ichigo did not say what again because it seemed pointless as the mass was not listening to him at all. " **Do not fret when nothing wishes to bind with you my son, I will have one brought.** "

Ichigo just glared at the creature who seemed to take great amusement in that. " **And if it gets rid of what might be a troublesome enemy well so much the better….goodbye** "

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Ichigo woke up more annoyed than when he had gone to sleep, as the dream and that conversion meshed like broken glass in his head. What in the hell was that thing talking about, and why had it shifted the conversion so suddenly?

He looked around himself, grateful to find that he was in a bed. They had left Sensei's house late, she had paid Koneko with something, he had not exactly seen it, told him that he was welcome to come by once a week and no more, and then both had to take the long way back as something had happened to the teleportation circle.

Ichigo tried to remember if he had taken Koneko home, the flight had been almost two hours and the day itself had been tiring enough. One of his hands felt odd and he looked down to find it entangled in white hair. He had to blink a few more times at it before an image resolved in his head. That of a familiar girl, she was so light he could barely feel the pressure of her weight on top of him. Before he panicked he did a mental check, one, he was still clothed, two, so was she… good, now where was he?

The room was not his that he was sure of that, it had a softer feel. As a Devil the darkness of the room was no hindrance to him. The walls were a bright white, with a few posters here and there, My Hero Academia, Madoka Magica, and two that he did not recognize. There was a basket full of clothing that was in need of a wash, a folding door that he would guess the clean clothing was kept behind. A clock reading ten thirty, so today he was late for school.

Right, he had flown her home and decided to that passing out on her couch was his best option. There had been some sort of talk between them, but he did not remember what was said and doubted she did either. He did not remember going to this room or collapsing, but at least now he had some idea of why he had been so tired. The simple answer had not been the explosion, but the hot long bath after, or both of them. He suspected he had become very dehydrated and that affected a person in many ways, exhaustion being the main one. With that mystery settled he needed to decide what to do next.

A large part of him did not want to get up, it was the first time he had ever woken up with a girl in his arms and at this moment Koneko felt better than the warmest blanket. His mind finished its reboot and another fact was suddenly made apparent, something that happened every morning. The tightness in one's pants that was felt by many men the world over. And right now it was pressing into something soft. When that thought came into focus it felt like that tightness doubled and whatever it was was pressing into currently felt like the softest most perfect thing in the world.

She was smiling too, looking as comfortable as he felt at this moment. He let out a sigh and gently moved his hand through her hair. Koneko let out a mewl of pleasure before her eyes blinked open. It started with a yawn followed by a stretch starting at the tips of her hands and traveling along her body arching her back and pushing out her arms. An unmanly squeak erupted from him as the motion drew her crotch across his erection. Koneko froze looking down at her skirt covering both his and her hips. Her cheeks got very pink, her yellow eyes growing very wide.

He did not know when their breathing synchronized, but right now it felt that his breath was being squeezed out by a large cinder block on his chest. There was a tremble in her body and she leaned forward her hands coming to rest on his chest. Sparks of lighting seemed to travel up him as her crotch rubbed against him even harder.

"Koneko." He gasped out in warning.

Her face lowered to his, fear, desire, lust, hope, and worry playing across her face. "Koneko." He said again this time more gently. Her mouth parted and then she was on him, their mouths met and she claimed his first kiss. Both of the had no real idea of what they were doing and anyone looking upon them would have winced in disgust or pity at how terrible and unskilled it looked. Not that either of them cared, seemingly at the same time theirs tongue met his arms came up and encircling her and pressing her lithe frame to his chest.

If this was what kissing felt like he should have tried it long ago. He felt her hands almost claw his skin, Blut flaring to stop her Rook strength from drawing blood. She had ripped his shirt and in response his hands slipped down to cup her butt, feeling the lithe strength of her body, the contrasted softness of her ass was a something he had never experienced before and he wanted more. They broke for air, faces red with effort. "45-30." She hissed.

Right, her little contest with Sona…..right, Sona...Sona...School...late. He let go of her and with what felt like the greatest effort said, "We are late for school."

Her eyes blazed for a second before she closed them and lay against his chest. "I know." they lay there for a little longer. As both fought to achieve some sort of calm, Koneko moved slightly and that pleasant friction flared again. "Maou, how big are you?" She said, her body rocking back and forth, seeming to slide along his whole length.

"Koneko." His voice was almost strangled.

She seemed to take pity on him and rolled off to the side. "We both need to get a shower." Her face was red again, but this time it was for a different reason her eyes were looking down at the now painful bulge. "...I need the coldest shower you have." He whispered.

She gulped, her eyes still below the waist. "Ok."

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It was eleven before they were both showered and dressed.,His shower had been agonizing as there was no way he was going to relieve himself the normal, natural way in someone else's shower. So it had been a war between his body and the cold water. The water had won in the end, much to his relief.

What had followed was a mad dash through the town, Ichigo had to stop at Sona's manor to grab his school uniform and throw it on. Neither of them said anything, both had sensed a change in what kind of relationship they had. It did not feel strange, and at least Ichigo knew for a fact he did not regret it. Though he had to wonder what was going to happen on the date they were supposed to have at some point. They had thoroughly gone to, like, second and a half base.

The gates to the school were closed but both of them vaulted the wall with ease landing firmly on solid ground. "So do we need to go check with Rias?"

Koneko nodded. "That is my job, it was my contract….you should go speak to Sona-san"

"Oh...wonderful." She gave him a hesitant thumbs up before turning to scurry away. Ichigo moved with much less alacrity, without the whole spending a night in another girl's bed thing he would have been far more confident.

He passed students who looked up at him fondly or with desire, his pictures seemed to be still in circulation, he did not see any other reason for the looks. Still it felt better than the hostility or outright fear that he had seen in his old school.

"Sup?" Ichigo glanced down at a grinning Saji and replied with a raised eyebrow. "Kaichou is not in a good mood," the boy continued, "I think you might finally get to experience her teacher side."

"Something you have been looking forward to?"

The boy grinned at him all the harder. "With baited breath?" Ichigo slowed to a stop and turned to face the boy. "You really should not do that," he practically chimed, "Kaichou hates being kept waiting."

"You don't like me," Ichigo said, "Why?" He really wanted to know, he had some suspicions, but needed the conformation.

Saji's grin faltered as he was forced to look up at the boy who had trashed him on the training ground. "Do you need a reason not to like someone?" he countered.

"Yes even if it is as vapid as 'That boy looks good so I hate him.'."

"Well that's not it." he scoffed his eyes flicking up and down as if to prove his point.

"Then what is?"

The boy opened his mouth, then closed it. "None of your business."

Ichigo stared him down until he looked away. Well, if he did not want to settle it, better use this to help him. "Well, whatever it is you think you lost to me, you're not going to get it back unless you are strong enough." He said the word with just a modicum of arrogance.

Saji's eyes suddenly shot back up, eyes blazing with sudden fury. Good that would help drive him, help him focus his training. Hell, he might even start trying what Ichigo told him to do if he phrased it as a trial to get stronger to beat him.

It was a thought for more consideration later and he left the boy there, glaring holes in his back. He walked calmly now, his mind refocused and ready for what was to come. He pushed open the student council door without a pause. Sona was sitting at her desk, it was clean of papers and her hands were folded on its smooth surface. Her glasses where pushed up on the bridge of her nose and had quite the lenses flair, he suspected magic. There were others in the room and behind him he could here Saji puffing to catch up and watch the fun.

Ichigo did not slow he walked up to Sona, nodded in greeting and put a rolled up paper on her desk. "Contract Complete, all the details are in there." He turned and walked over to his own desk in the silence that followed. Guess her peerage had never expected anyone to take her clear annoyance in such stride. He felt her glare as he got to work, but after a moment she opened the paper and began reading, her expression slowly shifted from fury to concern. "Are you alright?" she asked still with a hint of the anger.

"I'm fine, the explosion did not even give me whiplash."

"Explosion?" Tsubasa said speaking for the first time.

"The stray we ended up fighting, we think was a former bishop, she had eaten the other strays in her group and proved to be quite potent and mutated by the time we found her. When it was clear we were going to win she….I think used her body and magic as a catalyst for an explosion, shattered my armor and cratered me into the side of a large rock."

"Was Koneko-san hurt?" Sona asked.

Ichigo looked at her and felt his admiration and esteem of this girl rise. She must have noticed something because she coughed and looked away her cheeks flashing pink for a microsecond. To Saji watching that might as well have been a slap to his face. "She was fine, she is a Rook and I was shielding her from the worst, and the blast flipped us so it was my back that hit the rock."

Sona put down the paper. "This does not explain why you did not come home last night or why I could not reach you with communication?"

"Both I and Koneko made use of our clients separate hot springs, the explosion had hurt and we spent too long in them. There was no teleportation circle back and the flight drained us as I think we both got dehydrated and by the time I got Koneko back to her home neither of us could talk coherently much less do anything else." Ichigo took a breath. "We sort of collapsed onto each other, fully clothed!" he said quickly as both Sona and Tsubasa suddenly looked like they were about to develop eye lasers. "We woke up late and made our way here with only the briefest of stops to make a briefing for you and to grab my uniform." He was leaving out some things but they did not have to know everything.

"You spent the night with Koneko-san alone without a chaperone." Sona breathed.

"Well if she gets to do that so do I!" Tsubasa said giving him the stink eye.

Ichigo sighed. "I doubt either of you would tolerate, much less like me, if I tried to take any sort of advantage with a delirious girl." The fact that he had been delirious too at the time seemed not to matter in the face of rivalry. Besides, given what happened this morning they were a little justified in their concerns.

Both girls did not answer for a moment as Tsubaki chuckled into the silence. "He has got you two there."

"One." Sona said. "That is correct, Two there will be no indecent cavorting." She glared at Tsubasa.

Ichigo put his pencil down and turned his full attention to Sona. She noticed and paused looking unsure for a moment. "Kaichou." He said, using her title, though for some reason that made her flinch. "Do you find it right to exert such control over us?" Sona blinked. "Is it your business who any of us are spending time with, if such an act does not impede our duties to this Peerage and this school?"

"I..."

He held up a hand. "Please let me finish. Do you, Sona Sitri, think it is right and just to control the personal lives of your peerage, is that part of the duties as a King?"

Utter silence followed as Ichigo neither pushed or gave ground. "Morals and decency." Sona said then faltered.

"Are something you can try and instill, within this school and your house. You can set the rules, but do you really think that it is right to impose your will in such a way on us to have it include what we do in or own time with whomever we choose?"

Sona looked down at her desk. "I need to consider my words." She said at last.

"I understand." He almost felt sick doing this, but he was sure it was right. This would show him more of this girl he liked, one who he considered more than a friend. She might not have ever considered the justice of this question and it felt proper that he should confront her on the error in her thoughts.

The silence extended as he and the other members of the peerage worked upon the busy work waiting for their king to speak. "While you are at school, as members of this council, and attending duties, I expect the best in effort and behavior from all of you." Sona finally said. "However, I do not wish or desire to control your personal lifes or your lives in general, I apologize for any such actions and words in have taken in the past to satisfy my view of how the world should work and I apologize to all of you and ask for your forgiveness." Her peerage seemed stunned again, but only for a moment as a miserable expression crossed her face.

As if called by some unspoken command her peerage surged forward and shrouded her in words of acceptance and love. Ichigo continued to sit, to watch and listen. They seemed to forget his existence for those moments and that was all right.

When at last they calmed, he too stood. "Can I speak to you privately?" He asked Sona. She blinked up at, some tears that had fallen being wiped away by her sleeve and nodded.

From the expressions he was getting from the rest of the peerage, it told him not to push her any further or he would suffer. So it was a good thing that it was not his plan.

At her gesture they were given the room. "What?" she looked almost frightened when their eyes met.

So when he leaned over her desk and kissed her, the action came as a complete shock. He would have to thank Koneko for taking his first and giving him the experience to make this one better. It was slower too, with no need for the forceful passion. It was like he coaxed her lips into a response, as her cheeks darkened to scarlett.

He gently pulled away, leaving the girl trembling in her seat. "Wa, wa..." she stuttered cutely her glasses fogged all of a sudden.

"Now you have something to punish me over." He gave her a wry smile. "I should not have done that to you, I apologise."

"Th..the kiss?"

"No, that was amazing. I should not have called you out in public like that. I was acting on instinct to what you said, I challenged your authority and it was not right, will you forgive me?"

Sona took of her glasses and shook her head. "There is nothing to forgive, I think I needed that reminder. The power I have should not be used as some passing statement. Not when I can affect lives like that."

"I also did it because I want to spend time alone with you, perhaps being a bit improper during that time."

"Oh." She blushed.

"Plus, if whatever kind of relationship is forming, within that those involved need to be equal." That was one worthwhile lesson his dad had given to him on relationships. "I ask that when we act as a girl and a girl and a girl and a boy we act as equals in that...Also, stop me if I got this wrong or if this relationship is not correct, because I am new at this." He realised he was babbling and slammed his mouth shut hard enough to clack his teeth.

Sona herself looked no better through she was smiling, and glaring, and blushing, it made for a odd, yet perfectly Sona expression. She had to take in a few deep breaths before she was ready to speak. "Th-Th-that sort of thing must not be done during school hour, that I can order:"

"Yes you can." Ichigo said. "School is for learning."

"A-a-after s-school we can." she turned redder and could not finish the sentence, then blinked. "Right, in a week it with be a full moon and," Sona forced herself to focus, "Leave, please. I need to reset myself, then I have an announcement." She at least returned her full glare "And you are cleaning all the restrooms after that announcement for breaking the rules."

Well….that worked.

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1

So the big announcement was that they were going to meet Rias in the evening, which he guessed was a big deal for some of them. Given his unique position well, he was going over there anyway after classes to give Rias his other report, so he would be there when it happened.

The day passed by quickly even if he was all over the school cleaning every restroom 'till it shone and checking for cameras as one could never be too safe. So, as evening fell he found himself in the main room of the Occult Club with the rest of his other peerage. "So, we will be having a field trip tomorrow. We, as a peerage, will be going into the world of Familiars." Issei raised his hand. "Do not worry, I will explain." She gestured over her shoulder and a creature simply appeared. It looked like a flying ball with a face and wings that should have in no way gotten it off the ground. "Now, I know you have not seen her before Ichigo, but Issei you have." There was a pop of smoke and where and odd looking bat had been was a girl, a rather well endowed girl in a red dress with odd wing like shoulder pads and a rather vacant animalistic expression, though the mouth was quirked in a smile. Messy brown hair fell about her face and a slightly tanned hand came up to wave at them.

"That's the girl that gave me the flyer that night!" Issei exclaimed.

Akeno smiled at them. "This one is mine." She pointed at the ground and green light shone then faded to reveal a tiny green creature with tiny bat wings, a vaguely humanoid shape and eyes that sort of seemed like triangles. A hand pulled on the back of Ichigo's coat and he turned to Koneko. "Sorry, I could not show you before, but we are supposed to keep it a secret until new Devils are ready." She held in her hands an adorable white cat. "This is Shiro." She had the cat in her arms and was gently running her finger across its belly and chin. Ichigo smiled at her and mouthed the words. "It's adorable." She took a full look at him and blushed, guess she was still thinking about this morning. The smile on his face faulted as the cat looked him dead in the eye and it was a look of danger. "Cool." He said, making a point not to touch it, something about the cat suddenly made him worry that it would scratch him. He turned back guessing that he missed Yuuto showing his familiar.

"It is one of the fundamentals of being a good demon." Rias continued after the introductions, "Your pet," Ichigo felt that she said that word because it was easier to say than Familiar, "Can bring you information or deliver messages."

Between himself and Issei, Asia spoke up for the first time. Ichigo almost tilted his head as he realised that the girl did that alot when the peerage was around. He went back in this head through there recent interactions. The girl seemed to always be as near to him and Issei as she could manage. "How exactly do we go about obtaining those pets?" Which was good question because he had no idea.

"Ah, that's the fun part you see." There was a knock at the door interrupting Rias and Ichigo turned, he had sensed them coming but had said nothing. It was an odd position to be in since he was with two peerages. Momo and Reya opened the doors for a perfectly poised Sona Sitri to enter with the rest of her peerage in tow.

"Hello Rias." She said gently.

Beside him Asia, who had been surprised, was given a brief rundown of who this girl was by Issei, who through their training had already been introduced. "What are you all doing here?" Rias asked with a wry grin, one that said she knew full well the purpose of this intrusion.

"We both acquired more servants," Sona said her eyes flicking over to Ichigo, Asia and Issei, "I thought it would be proper to introduce everyone." So she was going with a delaying tactic.

Saji made it a point not to look at him, but he did sigh as he heard Asia getting the the quick explanation of who they were. "It concerns me that fellow demons didn't even notice our existence."

"Saji," she said with gentle rebuke, "Until recent events we turned a blind eye to each other." Her gaze flickered back to Ichigo before continuing, "It is only natural Argento-san would not know, Hyoudou-kun would not have known either save for the fact that Ichigo brought him along for our team training."

"To be fair he was not part of that." Ichigo replied.

"And that is why his presence was allowed." Sona acknowledged. "Now, introduce yourself Saji." He walked over and held out a hand which Asia took in both of hers. "I am so pleased to meet you." She smiled at him. Saji reacted as Ichigo had never seen him his other hand coming up to grab hers.

"The pleasure is all mine." Excitement seemed to drive all sense from his mind. "I am honored to meet a pretty girl like you." How he did not feel the death glares from Momo and Ruruko was beyond Ichigo as he vigorously shook the former nun's hands. A flicker of apprehension crossed Asia's face at his enthusiasm and Issei reacted before Ichigo had the chance ripping apart the two of them leaving Asia with a confused look.

"Saji-kun, pleased to meet you again, I know we already met, but I feel I should tell you that if you lay a finger on her you're freaking dead."

Ichigo snorted at the words, Issei would have to get in line, Momo and Ruruko were slowly edging towards their hapless crush and even if he did not like the boy he almost felt sorry. Asia stepped between him and Issei as his argument with his Pawn counterpart got louder. She looked a bit uncomfortable and moved her hands to gently grasp the side of his shirt and Issei's coat.

He caught a glimpse of Sona's resigned expression at the gesture at that and it confused him greatly. "So, I have heard that you are taking your new servants to the Familiar world?"

Rias smiled "And what if I am?"

"Well, my rival I have one who is also in need of a new familiar and only one team a month can visit that place." Her expression shifted to match Rias.

"In that case how about we have a duel to determine who gets to go first?" Rias replied as if on script...which now that he thought about it made sense, he was doing the same thing with Saji using rivalry to increase his drive and determination.

Sona did a good job of acting surprised, it fooled everyone in the room, but her response was too on point. "I hope you were not thinking of a rating game," her eyes flicked over to him again, "that would get...awkward."

Rias chuckled. "I am aware, plus I could never get permission for that. I think since this is a high school the victor should be determined through sports."

Sona grinned, not having to act out the smile. "What did you have in mind, my rival?"

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"So." Ichigo said as he sat down next to Issei and Asia, it had hit evening and all three felt more than a little worn out just from watching the antics of Rias and Sona. "How many Yen worth of sports equipment do you think those two destroyed?"

"Uh..." Issei looked a little uncomfortable. The boy himself had not been paying much attention to the sports equipment, rather his focus had been more below the belt. It had taken some willpower not to slap the boy, but if Rias and Sona had really wanted to keep the students from seeing their underwear both could have done so with ease. In fact the more he thought about it the more it seemed like some sort of game they played with each other trying to embarrass and knock the other off balance.

"I don't know, I've never had money." Asia informed them.

Ichigo glanced up at Akeno working on something across the room and raised his eyebrow. "I'm working on it," she said without looking up, "Give me a year and she will be fit for society."

Asia looked embarrassed at the comment and seemed to deflate, it was perhaps the saddest thing he had seen all day. She stiffened as he put his hand on her head, but as he began to ruffle it with a gentle skill he had perfected on Koneko. "Mmmm."

"No one expects perfection." He removed hand and Issei nodded vigorously.

"Ya, have you looked at me, perfection I am not?" His smile was genuine and it brought one to her lips as well.

Akeno shook her head. "You have been doing real good lately, how about you take those two for some of your favorite hamburgers." She flicked Asia a small roll of bills. Which she missed and almost fell over trying to catch, Issei and Ichigo both reached out catching the former nun by her shirt and pulled her back while one of Akeno's small oni familiars ran over to pick up the money and deliver it.

"You need to be careful." Isssi admonished. "Pretty girls like you should not hurt themselves." Asia blushed as the oni handed her the roll.

Ichigo noted the interaction. Good for him, perhaps this would be a way for him to calm down, Asia was the furthest thing from Raynare. Akeno, he noted was watching them in amusement, all of them...why was he included?

Rias had taken Koneko and Kiba away to some sort of discussion and while he was going to have to be home early he saw no reason not to humor Akeno and let Asia treat them to some unhealthy food. "Sounds like fun!"

"I'll say." Issei agreed.

"Then it will be my treat!" Asia seemed to glow at being able to say those words and stood up. "We should go now before the best place closes." It was amusing as she pulled them along with her trying her best to hurry, they were out of the building and out the school gate before Asia slowed to a fast walk, wary of the stares others were giving her. Ichigo thought it was because of her looks, not her excited run, but if it made her uncomfortable then...he moved up to walk beside her just as Issei did the same. Just like he thought, it helped her relax when she felt safe, Akeno must have been working hard to make sure she was comfortable doing this. He would have to thank the girl for taking this off his plate...mostly because he was not sure how he could have helped.

As it turned out her favorite spot was a small restaurant in the local mall, they arrived just in time to get served and the food was out to them in rather short order. It was a pleasure to watch Asia eat her burger and fries, he remembered Issei mentioning that she had not had them in all her time as a Nun with the church. He ate his slowly, enjoying it in his own way. He did not remember the last time he had really unhealthy food. His time without his powers had lead him on a road of exercise and nutrition. So tasting this artwork of meat, cheese, and vegetables, it seemed to him like a self imposed punishment.

"This place the best!" Issei exclaimed, already into his fries, the burger long gone. "Akeno showed this place to us when she took us out."

Asia nodded. "Akeno-senpai is such a kind woman." The girl looked down. "She bought me a bed, my own clothing, a TV with so many channels I don't know what to watch. I don't know how I am supposed to repay her."

"How about be her friend and tell her that, see if you can do anything to help her." Ichigo suggested, after all with the little he knew of Akeno she was a good person.

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Akeno sneezed as she read the article on Kinbaku

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"I will do that." Aisa looked back up. "She did say she thought I would be a good model for something."

"Hmm.." Ichigo felt a chill, though from what he did not know. "How are you fitting into the school?" He only had one class with her and he was often too focused on the teacher for much else to matter.

"Really well, everyone is so kind I cannot count the number of girls who said they love my hair or how pretty I am. There is one girl who likes to hug me a lot and rub my chest which sometimes feels strange, but it's fine."

"Aika." Issei growled

"Oh, her." Ichigo said face falling to neutral. "Asia if she ever makes you feel uncomfortable you need to remember that you can tell her to stop."

"No, no, it's fine. That sort of thing never happened in the church and it's fun to experience it plus feels good." She said that last part in the most innocent way possible. Issei sighed, an expression of lust on his face, then seemed to remember Aika was in the fantasy and almost lost his dinner. Ichigo on the other hand suddenly felt what it was like to be Tatsuki with Chizuru as a friend to Orihime. Not that it was anywhere near as bad as that, Sona would have done something if it had been the case at school. Plus, if Asia liked it and did not feel threatened by it he would have been the worst kind of hypocrite to tell her what to do in her personal life.

"Do you think I could join all the rest of you next time you take everyone training. They were all talking about how good it was for them and I was hoping I could join."

Ichigo looked down at her one hundred pounds, if soaking wet, body, and had to remind himself that she as a Devil and a Bishop, both counted for something. Still, he was not sure he could bring himself to be as harsh with her as he was with the others, something about her aura perhaps.

Issei was shaking his head. "That man's a slave driver, I have muscles hurting right now I did not know that I had."

"But your becoming stronger right? Strong enough that no one can just take you if they wanted." That brought the mood down a notch.

"Of course you can come and I will help, but I should point out what I am doing is teaching people how to fight, is that what you want to learn Asia?"

The girl was silent for a moment, eating a few fries "I don't know."

"I can show you how to run better and faster, with your gear you could become quite nimble though not as much as a Knight."

"Really?"

"Yes, would you like that?" She leaned over the table and hugged him. "I would love it, thank you so much."

"Hey, I'll help too." Issei said. "He has me running all the time."

Asia turned to him with the same radiant smile she had bestowed on Ichigo. "Thank you so much." She hugged the boy hard and he froze, face a mix of shock and elation at a girl hugging him.

She settled back into her chair a radiance of love and cuteness shining out from her for all to see. "Thank you both, and if Bouchou was here I would thank her, if Akeno was here I would thank her too." A few tears welled in her eyes. "This has been the best week of my life."

The urge to go out and buy her a pony was only stopped by the fact that he could not afford it and Issei looked to be in the same boat. The owners must have felt the same way because another round of hamburgers made their way to them at no charge.

They left just as the place was going to close and the evening had darkened quite nicely according to their Devil biology. Ichigo glanced at Issei who seemed to understand his silent message. "We will walk you home." He told her. "As long as you can show us the way, I don't think," He looked up again at Issei who shook his head, "Either of us know where Akeno lives."

"I'll show you." Replied the girl, looking even happier they were taking the time to do this. "We go this way, Akeno-Senpai had taken me here several times." The press of central town fell away to quiet neighborhoods and well lit sidewalks. The air cooled rapidly in contrast to the heat of the day, they spoke of simple things while they walked, stories of the past, funny moments, the normal sort of thing friends spoke of….Issei...friend...when had that happened? Ichigo shook his head, his other friends were going to be disappointed in him when they met, well, if they met. Orihime would meet him, but she never thought bad of anyone...except herself sometimes, but that was what Tatsuki was there for and him when she was not.

The evening was almost perfect, which was why he sensed when something changed. His senses were always passively active, but he mostly tuned it out, it was only when odd things started to happen that his hind brain would ping him. It did so now, noting the sensation of a presence following them, one that had been doing so for too long to not be curious. Thus passive switched to active, it was a human soul and not one spiritually powerful, but as a Devil he could sense an energy about him that set the hairs of his neck to stand.

"Issei," Ichigo said hoping the boy got the warning in his tone, his liking of the boy grew as his head snapped up, looking around, "Take Asia on ahead, I need to check on something." He gave both a smile. "Don't let her out of your sight." It was said in joking tone, but Issei read into it and nodded moving closer to Asia. "I'll catch up in a minute." He slowed his pace and Issei, bless his soul picked up his pace, moving his charge faster.

The moment they turned a corner he felt the presence move to cut across a yard, with barely an effort he simply stepped using Shupo, appearing in front of the presence arms crossed. The man or boy perhaps was not expecting it. He had short white hair and a build that spoke of training and effort, he was about as tall as Ichigo through he held himself in an odd almost manic manor. His expression was a comically large one of shock and surprise. His reaction was less funny, with speed right out of an American Western he drew a gun and fired.

Given where they were a stray bullet could have been really bad, Ichigo's hand slapped out Blut flaring on the palm of his hand as he caught the bullet and felt a sharp burn on his palm that quickly faded. "What the fuck!?" The man exclaimed. "Since when do shittly Devils do that?" The gun barked again, Ichigo had to take his one on his hand rather than catching it. It dug in slightly, burning for a moment before dissipating. Before a third shot could be fired he struck out, his Rook empowered fist breaking the wrist that held the gun, drawing a scream of shock from the man and causing the lights of the home to come on as someone noticed. "Fuck you, shitty shit-sucking mother fucker!" A stone hit the ground and light akin to a flash bang exploded. Caught unprepared Ichigo found himself blinded by its light, the item must of done something to the man's speed or provided a short range teleport because the sensation of his soul was now about five hundred yards straight away from him.

It was a good thing then that, while eyes were a nice thing to have, he did not need them to function. Zangetsu had taught him that. _A quick memory of a battle flashed across his mind, the fight with a manifested Zanpakuto, the fight with Masumura. Fighting him, fighting Ichigo in the hopes that he would end his misery. It had been that fight that Ichigo found to be the saddest of his life, it had been that fight which had given him the idea of manifesting Zangetsu in the real world. That whole Arc of his life had taught him so much._

He flash stepped, once, then twice, his eyes closed and burning from the light. "Mother Fucker!" Told him he was at the right place. There was a sound and the sensation of light, light like that of the fallen that had almost killed him, that would have killed him if not for Sona and Rias. "Following me while blind what do you think you are?"

Ichigo let go of all his senses, manifesting Zangetsu and letting their senses merge. The Zanpakuto was his eyes, his ears, his thoughts, he stood in a world of pure black. His arm flicked out in an easy motion and there was a sound like the grating of a chalkboard as steel met light. Zangetsu's blade twisted in an S pattern intercepting and deflected two strikes drawing pained expletives from his opponent. Those only registered on the very edge of his senses, to the outside word it looked almost like a performance. Like every strike was planed and its counter ready. The blurring sword of light was weightless, allowing for a faster attack than any other non-magical melee weapon made by humanity, yet countered and stopped by the simple black and white steel. The one with white hair howled his rage as a cut on his cheek was opened by a simple flick of the Devil's wrist. What was more, Ichigo could feel his eyes readjusting, he blocked a wide strike and kicked out catching the man in the ribs and sending him sprawling, along with the sound of cracking ribs. Perhaps if his opponent had not underestimated him this would have been harder, but he had not expected his speed or strength.

Ichigo opened his eyes to an empty street, the man was cradling his side and glaring at him. "Stupid slut, taking up with shittly Devils like you. Doesn't want a human man, nooooo, she has to have STD ridden goat fuckers like you."

"So you're the one she ran away from." Ichigo said gently.

"Freed Motherfucking Sellzen at your service asshole!" The man gasped out. "And let me tell you how fucked you are." Ichigo looked back from the man to himself and raised an eyebrow.

"Well not you, you fucked me pretty hard but those other two, oh ho ho they are beyond boned." Ichigo stiffened his senses expanding to find Issei and Asia...they were surrounded.

Ichigo vanished leaving Freed to howl with painful laughter.

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Issei kept a hand on Asia cursing the fact that he did not know how to fly yet. He did not know what had tipped him off, perhaps the training he was doing had something to do with it. Or some odd sixth sense, for a time he had been able to sense Ichigo, the man was a blazing light if you were in the same city, but the senses had faded over time. But now and again he felt something odd and it had been that combined with Ichigo's warning that had saved them.

A shadow had moved from the darkness, a sword of light lancing at his face. He reacted, his sacred gear flaring and its crimson steel blocking the blade of light. At the same time his knee snapped up driving into the attackers groin, the man went down.

"What's going on?" Asia gasped, suddenly fearful, hearing that in her voice made him angry. That such a sweet amazing person inside and out would have to fear. He looked down at the man and noted vestments, around them more shadows were moving.

He did not wait to think, nor panic. He swept Asia up in his arms and ran, and he ran fast, suddenly all the curses he had mentally sent Ichigo's way during training turned into blessings. Even the minor extra weight of Asia was no impediment, he out-raced several of the attackers as they left the shadows to attack. There were a lot of them, however and he had to make a sharp turn down a road to avoid the dozen that seemed to come from the other direction.

He did not know quite where he was in town and had to simply guess as he made several more random turns, how many of these people were there?

One leapt down from a roof sword held high, Issei leaped up to meet him twisting his body to allow his foot to drive into his chest. The attack had not been expected and something snapped under the force. Issei landed hard but managed to keep his feet.

He needed to do something to buy more time, but what? A memory of a training session flared, Sona's peerage had surrounded Ichigo and the man had moved the fight to a place where they had to attack him from the front. He tensed and leapt to a rooftop noting with dismay the number of people chasing them. His eyes snapped right then left settling on a shrine built into a hillside, that would have to do. Just hope there was not a God there who disliked Devils.

He leapt from house to house, his legs seeming to be made of springs. He had not realised how powerful his body was, he was now fast enough to slip past two attackers in vestments and reach the stone steps, he took them a dozen at a time reaching the summit in seconds. He practically threw Asia into the small temple "Stay in there!" He ordered, turning his back to it taking in a breath and raising his hands in defence.

"One, two.." he counted as people ran up the steps, they seemed out of breath and it took him a moment to remember they were human, they could not run for hours on end at full speed. "Twenty one." he finished as it seemed the last one reached the top. They were all dressed in vestments of the church, all of various ages, and looks.

They stared him down across the small courtyard. "Two demons," an older one said moving to the front, "to think a saint would fall so low as to give away her soul."

"Don't you dare talk about her." Issei hissed in anger. "You people have no right."

The man looked him up and down. "Kill him." he waved a hand as if it was not worth the effort. To Issei's shock just one of them moved forward, he was a younger man with an arrogant smirk on his face and not one but two swords of light. "This will be my first kill, what gift from the Lord." Asia whimpered at his words.

Kill him...just like that, just like Yuuma. Kill him, then kill Asia, sweet, lovely Asia. As if he did not matter, as if he could not stop it...as if he would allow it. Fear of death seemed far away right now, there was a girl behind him, a kind girl who deserved life. He knew what his teacher would do, and Issei knew exactly what he was, he was a pervert, he was a Devil, but even in his own inept way he was Protector.

"Boost!" the sound seemed to explode from his arm green light flaring, sending a rush of energy through his body. His attacker hesitated even as he closed, now Issei had not had what he would call real battle training, but he had watched, he had learned and his teacher could be quite brutal without hesitation. He moved forward his legs like pistons, his fist flashing, in the way his teacher had shown him how to throw a punch.

The man managed to cross his swords but the force of Issei's fist was amplified by the words "Explosion!" That roared from his sacred gear. The swords of light shattered and the man went flying back into his comrades and then threw them taking several over the edge of the hill. A surge of primal joy went through him. Thankfully his brain was still working as he backpedaled keeping his body between them and Asia. These freaks seemed stunned and dismayed even though they still badly outnumbered him. The eldest drew a gun, a freaking a gun, Issei had never seen a real gun and when the older man did that so did the rest.

Heart suddenly pounding He planted himself in front of the shrine. "Fire!" The man howled, Issei crossed his arms and grit his teeth. Then there was a sound, like the moving wind and Issei found himself looking at an armored back, energy twisted and spun as Ichigo Kurosaki had arrived, his shield before them, protecting them.

"You did good Issei." The bullets came in greater numbers, but the shield did not seem affected at all by them. "Keep your body between her and them, also get behind that stone wall, I will deal with this."

"Right." Issei pushed Asia down moving as his teacher had instructed, he was kneeling behind the chest high wall of the shrine, Asia was behind him and when he had down so, his teacher let go of the shield.

As quick as a striking snake Ichigo had drawn his blade and Issei watched almost mesmerised as the speed at which it moved, cutting bullets out of the air with almost contempt. In a heartbeat of reprieve his free arm raised and a bolt of blue light shot out and slammed into one of the men. There was the sound of breaking bones and the man went down screaming. Issei winced and made sure Asia's head was down, she did not need to see this.

Like Issei had seen him do so many times, Ichigo vanished from sight, but unlike all those times when he appeared in the midst of the foe his blade flashed in the moonlight with crimson, there was no pulled blow, no strike with the hilt or the back or flat end of the blade. Three were downed in a heartbeat of his appearance, it took a moment to realize that they were not dead. Bleeding yes, badly hurt perhaps, but Ichigo held back….Issei glanced down at Asia, and he knew why.

Blades of light were drawn in panic as the man moved among them, his steel more akin to a snake with how fast he was striking. One managed to get his blade out and swing it only to have their attacker contemptuously block it and punch him in the face shattering the nose and perhaps more. He spun his foot flashing catching a man on it, lifting him up and hurling him into two others.

About half a dozen broke and ran in panic, one almost blundering into the shrine, Issei gave him a love tap that planted his ass firmly in dreamland. There was a flash of light, the oldest man had his arms up his mouth open in a scream of defiance as a crimson orb shot out, Ichigo raised a hand then seemed to think better of the action and grasped on of the men fighting him holding him up. The crimson orb hit the man and instantly began incinerating him. The old man made a choking sound of horror as Ichigo hurled the flaming body at him knocking him from his feet, before turning to engage four of the men at once his single blade somehow defending against all of them and even driving them back.

Watching him fight four grown men armed with weapons that were the literal bane of Devil existence, watching him twist aside a strike and ram his sword hilt into his opponents gut. Watching how he blocked, parried, and cut apart his opponents with blade and fist and seeing the ease at which it was done. Issei wondered if there had been a hundred would it have made a difference.

The old man got back up, face pale and words that the Devil Power of Language translated were spoken. "I am the magi that seeks destruction, chosen of God that I might smite thee in his name!" Blue circles and symbols flared "Garm's Strike!"

A sword of blue power flared into existence floating in front of the old man, he chanted again calling on the Shield of Avandr, evoking a silver disk. The last of his people fell to Ichigo's blade by the time he had finished. "Demon!" the man hissed and made a motion with his fingers, the sword of blue light shot forward only to be deflected by his opponents blade, the man continued to move his hand as if controlling a puppet, as the sword of light whipped around in a series of blazing strikes, each and every one blocked.

Ichigo even counterattacked with a blazing blue bolt from his cool-as-hell wrist gun. The man moved his other hand and the silver disk intercepted it. There was that blur of speed as Ichigo moved on the older man, the sword of blue reacted quick as thought, flashing over to its summoner and deflecting a lethal blow. The man moved back, his arms moving desperately as Ichigo advanced upon him his sword smashing into the conjured armaments, sending showers of blue sparks everywhere.

Then he stopped and leapt back moving into he was in front of the shrine "I'm curious" he said in a board tone "What a bunch of people dressed as priests are doing hunting a harmless girl."

"Speak not, Demon. Your lies will find no purchases here."

"Were you going to drag her back to that rapist?" Ichigo tilted his head. "Or were you going to join in?"

The older man hesitated, the conjured weapons hovering "I walk this path to slay the Devil, the mutant and the heretic, what the others were planning is none of my concern."

"So you would have watched." The pure acid in Kurosaki's voice could have melted steel. "What do you think your God would say?"

"You dare speak of God?" the man hissed.

"I don't know much about him but I do know a much more present being you should worry about." Ichigo leapt back until Issei could almost touch him and his shield flared to life. " You can go all out." he said.

A voice that sent shivers up Issei's spine replied. "Oh, I intend to!" Akeno the great Onee-sama landed on the shrine grounds. She looked fresh from a shower, no makeup, her hair soaking wet, but she wore a shrine maiden's outfit, which at any other time would have ticked a lot of his attractiveness boxes, especially with her enormous oppai, clearly free of any constraints like a bra, bunched under her clothing. But right now the pure wrath in her eyes was enough to freeze even his perversions.

"Those ones are under my protection." she said. "This territory belongs to the Gremory and Sitri, and that girl is my family." The strong smell of ozone filled the air "And you dare do this, priest?"

The old man glared at her though he was starting to edge towards the stairs. "And you would've just watched them hurt her."

"You are demons." the man hissed. "Any evil done to you, any cruelty, is nothing compared to what you and yours have done to the Children of God."

"Ahh," Akeno breathed, her tone light, her eyes anything but, "So we are things to you. Well then, you will never stop being a threat to what is mine or my King's." She raised a hand "Resound to my call!" A red mandala of power appeared in the sky above them. "Resound and crash," her voice became a gale roar, "My Thunder!"

The sky roared its answer to her rage, a bolt of purest lighting, akin to that of a Demigod screamed down from the empty sky, the silver shield moved to interfere and vanished as if it never existed. There was an almighty flash and when it was gone only glassed stone remained where the man had stood.

Akeno waited for a moment before nodding and turning to look at all of them. "Let us retire to my house." Her eyes flicked over the other bodies and groaning men. "It seems we need to have a talk."

Ichigo nodded. "I'll call Sona, you call Rias?" The Queen nodded as she moved over to pull Asia into a hug.

"That sounds wise."

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They sat comfortably at Akeno's home, though if one looked they could see some of Asia's influence. Ichigo noted it all as he finished his explanation to his two Kings, both listening intently. Both looked furious, "The forces of the church dare make such moves?" Rias ground her teeth. "This has to be answered!" They both noticed Ichigo glance over to Asia and Issei before hesitating. Sona opened a communication spell between him, Rias, Akeno, and Tsubaki, as Sona's queen had arrived shortly after her King.

'The attackers are dead or downed save for one called Freed Sellzen.' His thoughts were clipped and precise 'That's a lot of stuff for the police to look at, I don't know if there is time left to do anything about that. However in the case of Freed, now that I know what his soul feels like If he gets within two miles of me, I will know.'

Both Rias and Sona absorbed the news with a calm detachment. "They did attack first therefore we have not broken the treaty" Sona said aloud. "Though I will have to call my sister on this, as this needs to be dealt with quickly. That last thing we need is a new war." She shuddered at the words.

"War?" Issei asked looking very concerned all of a sudden.

"Not if we can help it." Rias said.

"What are we going to do about this?" Ichigo asked.

Rias and Sona glanced at each other. "While I want to say we should root this out tonight," Sona took a breath as she mastered her emotions, "However, believe it or not, this is my sister's area of expertise, I will….contact her."

Rias nodded. "While that is happening we go everywhere in groups, I don't want less than four of us when we travel."

Ichigo nodded. "That sounds like a reasonable precaution."

"I'm sorry." All eyes turned to Asia, her blue eyes were rimmed with tears. "This is all my fault. I-I..." Now Ichigo was not the only person who moved but Shunpo made him the fastest.

"Don't you dare!" he said pulling the girl into a hug, all his Big Brother instincts flaring. "Don't you never think that."

"Indeed." Akeno said, A memory of her own parents flared as she joined in the embrace. Asia seemed to break down as the events of the evening truly hit her. Issei hesitated before joining in the group hug. "The abuser is the one at fault, not the victim and don't you worry if they try to take you from me, from this place, it will be the last thing they do." Lighting flared in the Queen's eyes...actual lighting.

"But, but, I..."

"Shhh." Ichigo whispered. "We are here for you, we will help you, we will accept you, that is what family does. Do not forget that, you are part of our family, you are part of my family, and that is the end of that."

"And not even think of doing something stupid, like giving yourself up." Akeno whispered.

"Ya," Issei, "Cause we would have to come get you and that would ruin the point."

Ichigo shook his head. "I've had to invade two different Worlds going after people who did that, it really won't work with me."

There was a lot of stares at that statement. "I'm not kidding." he said seriously.

The laughter started with Sona, the one who knew the whole story, it spread to the others who found the statement ridiculous and before long they were all laughing, this was, like crying, it was a way to relieve stress. Akeno nodded to the two of them and both boys let go allowing the Queen to lead Asia to a couch.

Sona got everyone to calm down after a few minutes, allowing her and Rias and their Queens to set the rules for their peerage going forward, at least until Serafall took over the situation.

"Let's go home Ichigo." Sona said as it all finished, she seemed tired.

He glanced over at Rias who nodded. "I'll teleport Issei home, don't worry." The boy gave him a thumbs up.

He walked over to Asia and knelt so they were at eye level. "Feeling better?" She nodded. "Good, if you ever need to talk we are all here for you." Like he did with Yuzu when she was feeling down he touched his forehead to hers. "You're not alone, not anymore. Remember that." Her cheeks pinkened at his close proximity and he pulled back, standing.

"He is right," Issei nodded, moving up to take her hand, his eyes completely earnest, "I might not be the best but I'm here too."

Her cheeks went even darker. "You seem fine to me." she whispered, though he did not seem to hear her.

Ichigo shook his head and walked over to Sona who was giving him a mild glare. "What did I do?" He asked in confusion.

His King rolled her eyes in semi-disgust. "That poor girl." She grabbed his hand and there was a flare of teleportation and he, Sona and Tsubaki were gone.

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 **Hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Also** (Poor Yuuto I would have liked to see his familiar in the show, but alas Issei can be kind of a dick. =( *Shakes head*)

 **Fanboy913**


	18. Chapter 17

**New update hope you all enjoy.**

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Of the many things Ichigo was witness to that were new, a magic-empowered Volleyball game with balls hit hard enough to cause sonic booms, ice spikes, a tornado and more than one ball shot for both Issei and Saji's crotch was par for the course. All in all he was glad to be the ref in this game. As a member of both peerages he rightly felt that he should sit out this team contest and both his Kings agreed. They called him a ref, but with magic allowed he felt his job redundant. On the brightside he was getting much faster at his shields.

It had gotten to the point that if he deflected the deadly projectile they called a volleyball back in bounds it was considered fair game. Behind him the benches had piled up with injured which Asia, bless her soul, was taking care of. Right now it was the Kings and Queens facing down for the last point to decide it all, so far three balls had been destroyed in this contest and looked to be headed for a fourth.

"And I thought I was intense." Tsubasa said, limping over to his ref chair. Ichigo flicked a finger and a shield deflected a ball that would have hit her in the face and bounced it back in.

"Well, if you get a rival in your sport perhaps you will."

"Hmm, perhaps I could get some cute senior and get us all sweaty while you watch, hell you could even come and watch the shower." Reya who had managed to place herself next to Kiba made a sputtering noise. While the boy just shook his head lightly and with more than a hint of envy.

"Not my kind of thing," Ichigo replied hoping against hope he was not lying, "Though Issei would be all for it if you ask him."

She put her hand over her heart as Ichigo deflected another ball. "That is a low blow sir, one that might demand satisfaction on the field of honor."

"Basketball game after I get back?" He asked for translation.

"I would love to!" she smiled.

Sona growled, one eye on them and the slight distraction cost her the game as the ball slammed onto the gym floor. She sent her hottest glare at both of them and Tsubasa raised her hand. "Hey Kaichou, you can come too. I'm sure he would love to see you in bloomers."

"I will kill you all." He growled, much to Tsubasa's delight.

"Well, my rival," Rias said, with a wide smile on her face, "It looks like I win." Sona gave them one last, less heated glare and turned to face her fellow King.

"You did win." she sighed. "We will go next month." They shook hands then, as one, fell back onto the gym floor breathing heavily from their exertions. Ichigo looked away before he could stare at the interesting things that did to their chests, Issei on the other hand had no such inhibitions. Asia frowned at him from her spot and when looking over at Ichigo's contrasting manner let out a sigh of relief.

That was the rule for him, dates or time alone with them, staring was ok. Outside of such it was to be avoided as best as possible. "We'll conveen when I can feel my arms again." Rias announced. "Then, as the full moon draws near, we head to the familiar forest."

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The familiar forest was, like many things, an odd place at first appearance with a blood red sky hanging over a thick covering of trees. The moment they landed they were assaulted by sounds of movement and Ichigo himself felt a sharp uptick in spiritual presences.

"My, my," Akeno whispered, "It has been a long time since I came here."

Rais gave a knowing laugh. "Not since Koneko got her familiar." She turned to the two of them and gestures at the surroundings. "This is the place where familiars are born and where all Devils go to find their pets."

"I'm not surprised," Issei looked a little on edge, "It looks like a monster could pop up an any moment." Asia in response to his words moved between the boy and Ichigo her arms scrunched against her chest.

"It will be fine." Ichigo said placing a hand on her head, and she shook a little before she looked up, her cheeks puffed and eyes determined. She then took in a deep breath and regained her kind demeanor.

"Haa! Shows what you know!" A voice echoed, they all looked up to see an older man standing in the trees above them, he had red hair, a wife beater shirt, a hoodie wrapped around waist and a hat on backwards. Despite his odd appearance Ichigo could not help but think of an older and crazy Ash Ketchum. "This forest is filled with danger, so say I, Pet Master Zatouji!" He looked them over. "You Devils have come on a lovey full moon, the forest moves with life and monsters wait to be found." He tilted his head back and laughed. "It is the perfect night for a pet hunt that is for sure, but be wary Orange boy for more danger than you might think await."

"The Pet Master is a professional," Rias said, "his specialty is helping young Devils find their proper partners."

"Yes indeed. Well, what do you three want in a pet? Strength? Speed? Poison? Smarts? We got 'em all here and I can find them." Ichigo did not say anything, though Issei got a particular look on his face.

"How about cute ones, especially female?"

Thankfully the man made a dismissing motion "No no no, a pet needs to be strong and brave, one that can support you and protect you, one that can..."

"Um," Aisa said meekly, "I would like a cute one."

Ichigo's sudden respect for the man dipped when he immediately said. "Ok, dear!" But then remembered that it was Asia and her cuteness was a weapon if she chose to use it. "Right this way miss!"

"Thank you so much." The girl replied.

(A few minutes latter)

"Those things were not Undines." Issei whispered in horror, one that Ichigo had no pity for. Perhaps the boy did not realize that the way he was putting things made it look like he was seeking a sex toy and that was something that Ichigo felt sentient beings should not be subjected to. Especially if familiars had to obey you like most Devil's did to their Kings. Now, he did not think Issei meant it like that, he had learned by now the boy had a bad single-minded habit of OPPAI and did not think of much else. Like the implications of seeking a creature with such qualities as a permanent servant.

He glanced up sensing before the pet master pointed out a creature sitting on a tree limb, a small dragon like creature with blue scales and tiny wings, the Pet Master confirmed it a moment later calling there attention to it. "Look, there's a Sprite Dragon, now that is a rare sight my friends."

"It's so cute!" Asia whispered, her face alight with sudden hope and joy.

"That, right there, is a top class pet." Kiba shook his head. "I've heard dragons are very hard to tame."

"That is correct." The Pet Master said. "Though I suggest you all take your chance as this is the only time you will ever have the attempt at a dragon familiar, once they grow up, they are impossible to tame."

Ichigo felt a movement of energy above them as a creature moved, or rather dropped. There was not much time to react, but while holding up one's arms and calling a shield was not that taxing, making it big enough to cover the whole group was another matter. Something fell and hit the sizzling energy, boiling like grease. Around them fell bits of a green substance, even as it did so, the slime began to gather together even on top of his shield the part of the creature that was not burning was gathering. With an effort of will he lanced it away from them, his sword forming and cutting the bits of green that remained in the air. The small patches of slime lost cohesion and melted away.

"Well, that was a close call." The pet master nodded. "I take it back, you might have nothing to fear here."

"One of the poison or acidic ones?" Ichigo asked letting his sword vanish.

"Sort off it is actually a strange creature, it only melts and eats clothing, mostly female clothing."

"..." The girls in the group shuddered at his words.

"WHAT!" Issei said. "That is so cool!" He glared at Ichigo. "Why did you send it away, that could have been my familiar?" He turned to where Ichigo had thrown it. "Wait for me Slime-Kun!" He howled and ran off in the direction Ichigo had thrown it.

There was a moment silence. "Is he going to be alright?" Ichigo asked.

"No," the Pet Master said, "but it should not be too bad. Though I have never seen a Devil want such a pointless thing before."

"Really?" Ichigo asked his voice laced with sarcasm.

The Pet Master held up a hand. "Ok, ok it happens once in a while." Above them the sprite dragon looked down, having observed the whole mess, it flew off its branch to hover in front of Ichigo sniffing him, then flapping back hard, making a sudden cry of distress, almost slamming into Asia who caught it. It hissed at him and lightning crackled, but it froze when Ichigo's eyes shifted from brown to blue for a brief moment.

"Shhh, shhh it's ok little one." Asia turned the dragon around holding it close to her. "He is a good man, he will not hurt you." The dragon stopped thrashing and its sound changed from terror to curiosity as it licked her face. "Aww." she cooed and pet its head her fingers slipping under something in just the right way marking the dragon shudder in pleasure. It looked back at Ichigo then over to Aisa then back to him before seeming to decided it was not in danger and nuzzled its head against the former nun.

"Well, well, I have never seen a dragon bond so fast, you must be pretty impressive little lady, but I think you have your pet." Aias almost jumped with excitement and hugged the dragon all the tighter.

"Asia, remember what we taught you, what you can do in this place."

"Oh, right Bouchou." She leaned over and sat the dragon down looking into its red eyes her right hand extended. "In the name of Asia Argento...I...um…" She hesitated and Ichigo had to wonder if she had ever called anything her own before. "I bind thee to me as my pet." Green light flared around her and the creature and Ichigo felt the bond form, a line between her soul and the dragon's, drawing them together and partially merging their essence. The dragon was not all that strong and Asia's soul was perhaps one of the stronger he had ever sensed, perhaps something to do with her faith. But the change on her was minimal, the dragon not so much.

"Good work Asia-chan." Akeno gave the girl a gentle hug. "Im proud of you." The former nun beamed at the praise. The Queen let go and Asia held out her arms, the dragon flew into them and began to nuzzle her. "Your so tickly Raigo-Kun."

"Raigo?" Akeno waggled her eyebrows at her.

"Well I was trying to decide between Rassei and Raigo and since Issei-kun is not here I thought was was a good enough sign." She looked over at Ichigo. "Sorry I did not ask you."

"That's fine, I'm honored. Though what were you going to do if Issei was here?"

"Um, flip a coin?" she said meekly.

Ichigo snorted and went over to look the dragon in the eye. It did not flinch away, but it looked like it wanted to. "Keep her safe, ok." He told the creature. It tilted it's head at him before letting out an odd cry and turning to nuzzle.

The Pet Master smiled at the sight. "This is why I do what I do." He looked over to where Issei had run off to. "Now then, we better get after your odd Pawn before he gets himself in trouble, a hydra just grew it's ninth head, which means that not only is it a male, it is also ready to mate and therefore very territorial."

Rias blinked at that and nodded with just a hint more concern than the moment before, Ichigo closed his eyes and reached out with his senses finding the boy only a couple hundred or so yards ahead of them and he seemed to be alone.

The pet master followed the trail Issei had blazed in his headlong rush after the slime, on the way he pointed out a few interesting creatures, a gust bunny, a Unistag, several Oni like Akeno had, but the results were the same. One whiff of his scent and they ran from him like their life depended on it. The Pet Master did not seem worried. "Happens to some people, something about you must rub these creatures the wrong way."

" _Do not fret when nothing wishes to bind with you my son, I will have one brought."_

This had to be what the creature had been speaking of, but what did he think he was sending and how...and who...there were so many things he did not know about the thing that he seemed to visit when he slept. Why in the hell was Zangetsu not talking, the old man seemed like he knew what was going on….but how in the hell did he know if he was a piece of his soul?

They found Issei by a tree that looked to have been knocked over very recently and most likely by Ichigo's shield disk. "You killed it!" Issei cried when he spied them. "It's everywhere now, over there," he pointed to a splotch, "And over there!" He pointed at another one. "How could you?!"

Ichigo was about to respond when there was a ping on his spiritual senses. The primary one, the bigger source of power was one he had never sensed before. It was odd, powerful, but very odd, but what caught his attention was that the second smaller source was very familiar. He froze, eyes wide, the larger source dropped the smaller one and just as quickly as it appeared, vanished from his senses. Almost at once the sensation of one of the creatures of the forest began to move towards the small source.

"Ichigo?" Koneko was looking at him worried. "What's wrong?"

His armor exploded into existence, his sword materializing in the sheath across the back of his hips, and as his brown eyes shifted to blue he turned and vanished in a blur of speed. The forest blurred as he dodged branches and trees, creatures big and small squawked or howled in indignation, but he was beyond caring. The large creature he sensed was almost to the small, familiar, source. His speed redoubled with his effort and a roar of sound filled his ears. His last Flash Step ended with the sight of a huge mass of black scales bearing down on him.

Ichigo Kurosaki bared his teeth at the monster, while the creature could not know it, the person behind him was someone he would protect at all costs. He slammed onto the ground feeling heat flush over half of his face, Zangetsu was in his hand the blade glowing with blue power. All of the monster's heads snapped to him, it's nine heads were attached to its body by long serpentine like necks. Green liquid fell from it's many mouths and where it touched leaves, the foliage burned and melted. It was a creature from nightmares, a monster that could not be tamed. The Nine-Headed Hydra.

But, at that moment, no thought crossed his mind. A primal feeling built within his chest, growing in power, in strength, as he stood his ground he gathered that primal force and let it loose. His roar shocked him as much as the creatures of the forest, for it to was a sound from nightmares, a sound he had only heard from himself twice. The roar was not that of a creature found in the mortal world, nor the magical, nor the underworld, it was the sound of another place, another space, as foreign to them as the bottom of the ocean.

The Devil's who heard it were forced to cover their ears, the sound so loud and terrible it made the earth seem to shake, through the effect itself was more psychological.

The Hydra stopped, it's heads pulling back like a snake, it's posture one of pure defence. Several of its heads leaked poisonous blood from the shockwave of his roar. Ichigo felt heat spread across his face as he took a step forward. That was enough for the monster, it turned and ran, breaking through trees in its haste. Ichigo held his stance for a moment, his breath coming in ragged huffs. His hand moved up to his face and froze as it touched something hard, something not his skin. At that moment of realization there was a cracking sound and chunks of white and black fell to the earth before dissolving into spiritual particles. There was a stirring in his inner world and what he could only describe as a spiritual yawn.

"Itsygo?" A voice asked.

The thoughts of what he had done and what he had woken up fled as he turned, a small child toddled out from behind a fallen log. She was just as he remembered, three feet all, hair far greener than the forest around her. Most of her skull was covered by the remnants of of her hollow mask, still cracked in the middle, in line with the scar between her wide grey eyes. He moved to her covering the space between them in a perfect Flash Step. "Nel." He replied kneeling.

The child made a sniffing sound. "Itsygo!" She whimpered before ramming herself into his chest, her small hands seeking purchase on his armor. He willed it away allowing them to grasp his shirt. "Itsygo!" He put his arm around the child Arrancar and like any other child in the world, she began to sob.

He held her, ignoring the snot and moisture, letting her have this release. He hoped that she felt safe like this, and wondered at just what the hell was going on. Sounds reached him as Kiba exploded from the forest a blade of fire in his hand, he slid to a sudden stop as no threat manifested and raised a questioning eyebrow at him and the seeming child in his arms.

Rias and Akeno arrived next, quickly followed by the others, all looking as confused as each other. "What happened?" Rias almost shouted, dark power gathered in her hand as she looked for a threat.

"Well," Said the pet master, seeming unperturbed on his tree branch, squatting like a frog, "It seem your friend here just scared off a Hydra." He paused for a moment. "And...everything else within several miles." He shook his head. "That was a hell of a roar kid, I wonder where you learned it." He glanced down at the child in Ichigo's arms as if only then noticing her and after a moment let out a long suffering sigh. "Oh joy, another God pulling bullshit."

They all turned to stare at him, Ichigo included, the man shook his head. "Happens once in a while, some god wants to influence who their distant sion gets as a pet or perhaps they might owe a favor, or if there someone like Loki just do things for the hell of it. But generally they take a creature that does not live here." He sounded more than a little annoyed by that and even shook his fist at the sky for emphasis. "Then they put it in here while whoever they want to affect is looking for a Familiar and through half a dozen bullshit ways cause the thing they put here to act as a familiar, complete with the fact that they cannot leave unless claimed." He put his hands to his head. "How in the hell do you think we ended up with a hydra? That shit is not normal, that does not belong here, but it killed the one who was supposed to claim it and now it wont leave for anyone else." He sighed "Once Hephaestus put a living hammer in here, only he did not give it the ability to talk or make noise so it's still around here waiting for someone to find it and have the Smith God's blessing." He made an utterly disgusted sound. "Whatever that thing it is, it is here for you and you are taking it out or so help me God," he winced at the last word but continued, "No Devil will be allowed in here for the next thousand years."

They all absorbed that tirade, though Ichigo had no intention of leaving Nel behind, not in one thousand years. "What do you mean she cannot leave?" he said seeking clarification.

"The creatures of this forest cannot leave unless claimed. It would be nice if they could not be put here either, but noooooo, that's not how the magic works."

" _Well it will not do for the flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood to have anything but the finest."_

" _Do not fret when nothing wishes to bind with you my son, I will have one brought."_

" _And if it gets rid of what might be a troublesome enemy, well, so much the better."_

His hands tightened around Nel, why would the Shadow want to be rid of her, hell what was its effects doing in the world of the Hollows, was that where it resided?

Nel moved her head back and forth wiping the last of the snot off her face, her sobs falling quiet as she let it all out. "Who is that?" Koneko asked.

"Is she hurt?" Asia asked moving up and putting her glowing hands on Nel's back, the green light spread along the crack in the mask though there was no change. Nel stiffened before relaxing with a groan.

"Dat feels good, Itsygo." She mumbled.

"It knows your name?" Koneko said.

"She." Ichigo chidded gently before standing slowly, letting Asia's healing power do its work. He did not know if the Arrancar needed it, but it would not hurt. "This is..." he hesitated at the name Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, it did not seem like the thing to say. "This is Nel." The ones who had heard his story seemed confused and given that he had glossed over a lot of the details which included the child it did not surprise him. "She is my friend."

"Itsygo," she looked up at him, "Nel doesn't know where she is."

"Safe." He said, turning to the Pet Master. "Is that really the only way out?"

"Yep." Was all the man said.

A flare of anger went through him, to know that he was being manipulated and not at least having the basic knowledge of who was doing it. "Who is she?" Rias asked again.

Ichigo sighed. "Not now, not here." He looked down at the child. "Nel," she looked up, "I am going to take you out of here, and I am going to keep you safe, just like I did before."

She looked up at him her eyes wet. "Promise?" He nodded. "You won't leave Nel again?"

His heart clenched with sudden pain at those words, there had not been a lot of time back then and he had lost his powers so soon after. "I promise." he said. Nel nodded at him and he took in a breath trying to remember what Asia had said and what the Pet Master had said but casting them aside after a moment's thought. This place held the power to bind people and the words did not matter, except to the person who spoke them. "I am Ichigo Kurosaki and I make this promise to protect you," His teeth bared at the red sky, "And I swear it on my Soul."

There was a thunderclap of white as power blasted out of him blinding all who were looking, part of it rushed into the wide-eyed child in his arms and even though he lost sight of her in the light he felt the change, sudden and swift, for a moment he was not holding a child, he was embracing someone just as tall as him, her soft arms around his neck, her chest pressed against his. The voice that spoke was one deeper, older, and one that knew, knew what was happening.

"And I promise to bare your burdens as you have born mine, and pledge myself to you even if all creation becomes your enemy, and I pledge this by our bond and my word."

Ichigo felt it in his soul when the connection formed, felt a piece of himself pulled away and into the woman who held him and a piece of her returned in its place. Lips touched his for the barest instant and the light was gone and he held child Nel in his arms once more. The child looked up at him and for a moment those eyes were that of someone far older, they smiled at him with an expression child Nel could not have done on her own before they faded back into her psyche.

The child that looked at him seemed far more at ease, in point of fact he could feel her at ease, feel her...feel almost as he felt his own emotions. "Well that was an odd oath, you do realise you were here for a pet right?" the Pet Master asked. A surge of adult amusement at the term flared through his bond with her, a sense that felt at once separate and the same to Child Nel.

"Does that sort of thing happen to him all the time?" the pet master asked Rias. "Cause that sort of oath should not have worked, it's not how the magic here works."

Rias looked at the man and back to her Rook. "Yes." She replied, face deadpan.

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"Who are day, Itsygo?" Nel asked looking around him as the flash of teleportation returned them to the occult club room.

"You know, I was going to ask the same thing about you." Rias said

Ichigo turned to face her and almost knocked Asia over, he managed to pause just in time. The blonde Nun was looking at him or rather Nel with very wide very pleading eyes. "Can I hold her?" she whispered.

Ichigo glanced at Nel who was looking down at the girl with curiosity. "If she will let you." He tilted Nel so that she was looking at him. "Is that ok?"

The Arrancar seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding. "Ok, so long as wour here Itsygo." He patted her head and leaned over. Asia seemed to suppress a squeal of delight as she tilted her hip in the way only women could really do and set Nel on her hip. "Hello your name is Nel right? That is what Ichigo calles you."

"Nel is Nel." The child agreed.

"I'm Asia, it's nice to meet you."

Ichigo turned away as they chatted, confident that Asia seemed to know what she was doing, though he did catch a glimpse of her Dragon Familiar leaping up to her other arm and demand attention which she happily gave.

"Nel is...or was a creature called an Arrancar, which is sort of like a Hollow crossed with me." Issei, Kiba, and Akeno raised a hand. "And," he said, forestalling them, "let me give you a quick overview of my life."

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"And so, that is where I met her, as I was invading another world to get my friend back….again." He glanced over at Nel who was now on the ground wrestling with the dragon and both seeming to have the time of their lives. Asia stood over them like a mother hen her power ready to flare if anyone got hurt. Which, knowing how tough Nel, even in her child form, was Ichigo had no worries. He noted to himself that he had skipped telling them about her adult transformation, but felt that part of her story was Nel's to tell and not his.

"And now...somehow she is my familiar which brings me to the question," he turned to Nel, "What happened to you and how did you get here?"

"Oh!" Nel shot to her feet. "Nel knows, Nel knows!" She looked around waiting for a quiet that was already there. "So Nel was paying eternal tag with her brothers, and Nel was winning," she nodded vigorously, "Then some new people joined in the game, chased Nel and her brothers all over the Desert. So Nel's brothers tried to distract them by running the opposite way of Nel and Nel hid in a rock." She nodded again. "But they found Nel, they were much better at hide and seek."

"Who are they?" Ichigo asked

Nel frowned at him "Nel no know, but as Nel was saying, this blond man who called himself B caught Nel and put a bag over Nel's head….It was dark then and Nel does not know how long then Nel wakes up with B as he is dropping her in to...Nel has no idea, but he dropped Nel and a Big monster came to eat Nel, but then Itsygo showed to save the day like he always does and that is how Nel got here." She nodded again. "And Now Nel is Itsygo's Fa-mili-wr." she had to sound it out slowly. "So that means Nel gets to stay with Itsygo, which is great, we will play cool games, and he will Protect Nel from B."

That...that was a lot of information and yet almost nothing at all. "Are your brothers all right?"

Nel gained a far away look in her eyes before nodding "Nel's brothers fine and Nel's brothers know she is fine. They know Nel is with Itsygo and say that I need to stay here and stay safe so Nel will."

"That uh..." Rias said after a moment. "Well, I guess I will just have to chalk it up to you being you."

Ichigo felt Koneko at his side as she slipped her hand in his and squeezed before letting go, Ichigo smiled while looking down at his hand. "Well, I need to go to the Gym." He opened his mouth to call Nel to him, but something tugged inside him and Nel vanished from the floor and appeared on his shoulder. Nel blinked, along with him, before he simply nodded. "That is going to be useful." he said.

Koneko was at his side once again, this time dressed for Gym Class and he blinked down at her before looking away, resisting as his eyes were seeking to be dragged down to her bloomers. She did not say anything, but it was clear she was going to come with him. Asia looked from Issei who was semi-sulking in the corner, still a bit peeved at the death of his slime. Even though he had listened to Ichigo's story with rapture he had gone back to his corner. Asia sighed and said. "I'll go to, I've never played basketball, but I hear it's fun."

"You need to go get changed." Koneko said. "You're not dressed right."

Ichigo felt more than a mild surge of panic as Akeno nodded. "I guess that means I'll be coming too, someone has to keep an eye on things." She simply stood up and her power flared changing her clothing to match Koneko and negligently flicking her hand at Asia whose clothing reshaped into the Gym Attire.

"...Tsubasa is going to kill me." He muttered.

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Tsubasa smiled as he walked into the Gym, though it slipped somewhat when she noted the green haired child hanging onto his back, her head looking over his shoulder. Her eyebrow raised when Asia and Akeno followed him in, narrowing as she scrutinized the two women. It was kind of funny because Sona was doing the same thing from where she was stretching with the help of Tsubaki, who for her part shared a knowing and amused look with Akeno.

"Uhhh, who is that?" The basketball loving Rook asked.

"Nel is Nel," replied the child, "Nel is Itsygo's familiar."

There was a pause as Tsubasa let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll bite, what happened?"

"Yes, quite." Sona said.

Nel tilted her head. "Who day, Itsygo?"

At this point in his life he was getting very good at recitation of past events and managed to summarise the day quickly and succinctly. "Wow," Tsubaki shook her head in amusement, "I wonder which God took an interest in you?"

"That, I am not clear on," he admitted, and the only one who seemed to know was not talking, "But, yes." He glanced at Sona. "Any issue with her staying in my room?"

"Um, no." she said staring at Nel with an odd expression on her face. "So this...child is one of the creatures you say you fought."

"Actually she's closer to what I used to be. A hollow with shinigami powers." He reached back and gently scratched Nel on the uncovered portion of her head. "She is no danger to us."

"That is not the same as no danger to anything."

"Nel might have needed souls until she became Itsygo's familiar," she made a cute face, "But Nel dinks she can eat food bow."

"And," Ichigo added, "I can sustain her with my own power if need be, we have a bond now."

"Hmm," Sona made a face, "So exactly like how we can channel our Devil power into our familiars….fascinating."

"Next question," Tsubasa said pointing at Akeno and Asia, "Why are they here?"

"I wanted to play," Asia seemed to grow smaller as she said it, "I-If that's a problem, I'll leave."

"No, no, that's fine!" The Rook said quickly, more so from the glare of promise that Akeno sent her way than enthusiasm.

"I was just curious." She glared at him like this was somehow his fault. "I'm not going easy on either one of…." she trailed off as Akeno smiled at her. "I'll cut you some slack." she finished with a nod at Asia, whose smile of pure cuteness seemed to take aback his fellow Rook and her posture looked accordingly. "Well," she sighed, "Let's get playing."

The game itself was a lot more fun than any had expected. Akeno turned out to be decent and with Nel on his back and Asia on his team the game was a lot closer. The final point had been scored when Nel suddenly leaped off his back and rammed the basketball with her "Swupper Speed" somehow knocking it off the backboard and into the net.

Thus, they found themselves all hot and sweaty and tired so Sona offered the girls a bath at her place. Ichigo had sighed at that, as he would have to wait an hour or two before his turn, but that was that. Thankfully, they took Nel with them so at least she would get clean, hell as far as he knew this might be the first time she had ever had a bath.

Still, he took a quick shower to get most of the sweat off of him and then went to the living room with to wait his turn. He had just gotten comfortable and opened his math text book when there was a glow and a pop of teleportation. But he recognized the feeling of power and made no move from his spot. "Levi-tan."

"Ichi-chan!" He watched the girl leap over the coffee table and land on the couch beside him. It said something about the couch that he hardly felt the action.

He winced at the nickname and hoped it was not one of the ones that stuck. "What are you doing here, it's not the weekend?" She blew a raspberry at him and he took a moment to note, with appreciation, her Miracle Girl outfit, the pink and white top, the short skirt, the cute hat, her twintails. It was quite the ensemble. "You look good, by the way."

She grinned. "Perhaps you will watch my show and get to see it more."

"Perhaps, Sona is in the baths with a bunch of guests." He nodded in the direction.

The Maou seemed to salvate for a moment before leaning back against him. "Nah, I'll refrain from embarrassing her this time." Ichigo nodded and set down his book, it looked like he was not going to get much time with it right now.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

He could not see her face, but there was a slight pause before she spoke. "I'm doing ok"

"That is what I say when things are going bad, but not worst."

That drew out a chuckle from the Maou and she tilted her head back until she could look at him. "I wonder if humans took understatement from us or did we, from them." She sighed and her head returned to normal. She shifted moving down until the back of her head was on his lap, months ago this would have freaked him out, even now it was a little odd. Out of all of the people he had met, Serafall had been quite busy and there had been little time for interactions after that double date.

Still he followed his instincts and put one hand over her collarbone and with the other began to gently sift her hair and scratch her head. There was a flicker of surprise, but she relaxed instantly. "Being a Maou is hard sometimes, especially when you're the one they saddled the joke of peacekeeping with. Seventy-two families, most of whom believe they are best thing that has ever walked the underworld, with thousands of years to build, grow and cultivate grudges, two huge external threats within our own Pantheon, which is to say nothing about threats outside of the pantheon. Roll all of that into one job and that might be a quarter of what I worry about on a weekly basis, I swear sometimes, without So-tan, my show," she smiled at him, "And now you, I think I would go quite crazy."

Ichigo shivered at that thought. "That," he said at last, "Sounds a lot harder then swinging a sword at a problem until it goes away."

"Oh, I have used that option a few times, it is quite effective so long as it is sparingly used. Right now it as been kind of a slow week and I managed to sneak some time off." She made a sound of pleasure as he found a spot on her head and Ichigo redoubled his efforts at his impromptu scalp massage. "Mmmm, but enough about me and my work, I came here to get away from it all."

"Sounds good to me, we have not had much chance to talk of late." Serafall made a face.

"I know," she moaned, "But things got soooo busy and only just quieted down, I hate it, but it's good work, it's necessary work."

"The worst kind."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you and it was not just for your good looks."

He ignored the heat that touched his cheeks at the remark. "Are you sure it's not for my non-existent money?"

"That does help," she teased, "After all a defacto Queen of the Underworld is always strapped for cash."

"Happy to be of service, golddigger."

"Ouch, my pride, by precious pride," Serafall said with a fake cry, "Take me as I am and I will be be your slave forever."

"Hmmm tempting," he chuckled, "But I think the Underworld would rise up and come after me if they found out I had its favorite Magical Girl tied up in…" He paused. "Well not my basement, but her sister's basement….come to think of it they might pay to see that."

"They would." She agreed her face brightening. "I wonder if I could get Sona in leather to compete the scene."

"She would have a break down long before." Ichigo said.

Serafalls laugh was a lovely thing as it echoed throughout the house. "She would." The girl let out a sigh. "Where is my lovely So-Tan?"

"Naked in the bath." Ichigo said evenly reminding her that he had told her this.

Serafall's eyes shone with a sudden gleam. "Along with Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Asia, Akeno, Koneko and my new Familiar Nel."

"I heard about that," She said, shifting topics, "The Pet Master wants us to lodge a complaint with whatever God interfered, but we can't seem to find one, do you have any Idea?"

Well she was the Maou of diplomacy perhaps she would have some idea. "I would guess the God of Quincies, if you have ever heard of such a thing."

Serafall closed her eyes for a moment. "I can't say that I have, but why would this being be interested in you?"

"I have no idea, and beyond the basic guess of wanting my power I have nothing. Just that I think he had been talking to me in my dreams."

"Well, that helps narrow it down, not all the Gods can do that." She glanced down at his hand gently rubbing the area below her neck "I'm still waiting for you to cop of a feel you know."

Ichigo did not move his hand and closed his eyes. "Um, wouldn't that be a bad thing for me to do as a guy? I mean shouldn't we at least do our own full date before that?" He opened one eye and found the Maou slowly nodding.

"Makes sense you think that," she sounded disappointed, but understanding, "I guess that means I'll just have to make sure we spend more time together and get that date in."

"That sounds fun Levi-tan." He considered his next action hard, he had meant what he said but he did feel a connection to this powerful and lovely creature. He was trying to move slow when it came to Sona, Tsubasa and Koneko, they were his age so they were moving fast enough already. But Serafall, she was six hundred years old, the veteran of two wars, a de facto Queen of another realm and in terms of power was equivalent to a nuclear arsonal. She had the weight of a world on her shoulders and no doubt the stress to match. Was it wrong for her to find touching somewhat less of a large leap in a relationship. "Levi-tan?" he said.

"Hmm?"

"May I..." his face heated to the point where it could boil water. "May I touch you?"

Serafall froze for a moment, her eyes on his, and her lips parted in a full faced smile. "Yes, you may." He let out a breath and his hand only slightly trembled as it moved down to her chest, honestly her cute, pink top did little to hide the pleasant curves that rose and fell with her breath. Her eyes followed the hand with a pleased smile a with an almost delicate motion running over the fabric. The action felt so….ecchi and he almost automatically expected a slap.

But no, Serafall placed her hand on top of his and pressed down. "It varies from girl to girl, but if your going to fondle, put a little pressure on it." She smiled at him. "For me think of it as kneading dough."

Her chest was certainly large enough for such an action, at once soft and firm, it felt like only the fabric of her top protected her flesh from his hand. He squeezed lightly, still keeping his other hand running through her hair and across her scalp. If there was any change it was that she seemed to relax even more. Though when his thumb brushed across a hard point she let out a small gasp.

"Just like that." She whispered, her eyes closed. "Vary the pressure, soft then hard, hard then soft it does not matter." A smile spread across her face "In my years I have been told I just have a sensitive body, a lewd body one might say."

Ichigo frowned and removed his hand flicking her nose. "None of that Levi-Tan, you have a lovely body."

"Why, thank you for saying so." Her hand pulled his back to her chest. "Now how about you try going under the top."

He gulped at that, he was already pushing his sense of decency pretty far and to be fair, along with that thought a slight panic set in as the other part of his mind decided to go for it.

"What in the seven halls do you two think your doing!" Panic flared through him again and he was thankful his hand had not yet started, he looked up to see a dripping wet, towel-clad Sona sending the mother of all death glares at the two of them

"Nee-San!" Serafall just grinned.

"And you," Ichigo gulped as the girl spluttered "You…." she seemed to be searching for the right words.

"Leech, pervert?" he offered.

"No, I know this is my sisters doing."

"Guilty~" Levi-tan singsonged.

Sona's eyebrow twitched. "How long are you going to fondle my sisters breast!"

Ichigo glanced down in a panic to where Levi-Tan was moving his hand around her eyes locked on Sona. He tried to move, but found her pure physical strength more than enough to keep his hand there. "When So-tan and I have experimented she is most sensitive here," his palm passed over her nipple, "and here." She slid it along the underside of her breast.

"NEE-SAMA!" Sona sounded utterly horrified.

"What, I'm just making sure our man knows how to please you."

Her lip quivered slightly. "T-T-That's highly inappropriate N-Nee-Sama." Her face was utterly scarlett.

"Levi-Tan." Ichigo said, pulling on his hand which, to his relief, she let go. "That's enough, go apologize to your sister."

"Yes Daddy." She said and it made him shudder with revulsion.

"Don't ever call me that again."

The Maou sprung up from the couch and across the room to her trembling Sister. "There, there So-tan, your big sis is done."

Sona let out a whine and while she did accept here sister's hug, she glared over her shoulder at him but it softened as her sister went a little quiet and the hug shifted to a much more real one. "Stressful week?" she asked, only a slight hitch in her voice and pink in her cheeks.

"Mmmmmm." Was her only reply from the Maou.

"That bad huh…." She looked like she tried to summon up more anger, but she locked eyes with him for a moment and let it go. He had the abrupt thought that perhaps Sona herself had been in similar positions with her sister and it must have shone on his face because she went scarlett again. "C-C-Come on Sera," she must be embarrassed because she did not notice the use of a pet name, "You can join the rest of us in the bath."

At the way Serafall's face lit up Ichigo decided that Sona must have done that on purpose, "But Ichi-chan will be bored and that's rude."

"Bringing him in there would be improper Nee-Sama." She glared at him as if he had some plans that went against that thought. At that he returned the look with a deadpan expression as if to ask 'Really?' Her return look seemed to say that she did just find him fondling her sister, to which his look told her….fair enough. With that silent conversation out of the way they both took an amused moment to realize how impressive that was...Serafall interrupted with a look that said 'Hurry up or I am dragging you both to the baths'.

Ichigo chuckled at how fast Sona dragged her sister out of the room, taking a moment to enjoy how her towel clung to her thighs giving quite the pleasant outline. Serafall looked back and noted his gaze, she winked at him before giving her sister a solid slap on the butt drawing an "Eep!" from the girl before they vanished from sight.

He glanced down at his book and back up at the direction of the baths, he let out a sigh and stood up going back to his room for a quick cold shower he found himself in need of.

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Asia let out a sound of pleasure that bordered on a whine her mouth open though no words came out. "Honestly child we are going to have to work on this weakness," Akeno said, "As far as I can tell if the enemy so much as touched a boob, you are done for."

"B-b-but y-y-our rubbing t-t-them." she peeped out as Akeno's long delicate gently stroked her nipples to stiff points while kneading them with an utmost gentleness.

"And you're making the cutest noises, so you can't really blame me."

Sona put her hand to her face, honestly her friend's Queen had no shame whatsoever. Tsubasa was currently staring at her sister who was washing happily. "Can I help you Tsuba-chan?" Her Rook winced at the name but nodded.

"What did you do to Ichigo?"

Her sister gave the most innocent smile. "What makes you think I did anything?"

"Kaichou almost forgot her towel in her haste to find you once she realised you were here."

"Oh, now that would have been awesome." Serafall grinned. "Ichi-Chan and I were just having a conversation."

"Hmmm…." the Rook did not sound convinced and the way Sona looked away and coughed did not help any. "HMMMM….." the Rook said louder.

"Honestly, Tsubasa-dear." Akeno said as Asia stiffened and then sagged against her. "All it means is that you have to up your game." Sona and Koneko glared at her and the Queen rolled her eyes. "Really Koneko? You slept the whole night on top of him."

The Devil's face went cherry as Sona and Tsubasa both sent an annoyed glare her way. "Ichigo told us about that." Tsubasa mumbled.

"Oh, good lad." Akeno chucked as she ran her hand through Asia's hair rubbing in shampoo, the former nun had a blissful expression on her face though she did seem to be listening.

Serafall just grinned at the expressions on her sister and sister's Rook, perhaps they should start pushing forward a little bit...or rather she would be surprised if the Rook had not already, her sister was the one who needed a push. "You could double team him," she suggested with a leer, "Men tend to love that sort of thing." The responding blushes were the cherry on top of this whole situation "Or triple team." She added Koneko in her head. "Or hey we could quad team him and..." Both rooks in the bath sent a wave of water at her, but before she could do anything Sona made a gesture and the wave faltered, some of it splaying back onto the Rooks. When Serafall sent a return splash at Tsubasa it was on.

Tsubaki, who had been silent, moved out of the line of fire and beside Akeno, her fellow Queen had soap in her hands and was rubbing her Bishop on the chest and one hand going down lower. She raised an eyebrow looking between the red faced bishop and the smiling queen "I did not know that was how you liked it." she said.

"Hmm, this?" Akeno did something and Asia gasped loudly. "We are friends, dear...with some benefits. Asia-chan was quite insistent that she repay me for my hospitality." She paused for a moment. "She found reading material," the leer in her voice was enough to tell what kind of material it was, "I joked that I could practice my interests on her and she said yes."

Asia smiled her face red "I'm happy to help and...it's so much fun and feels so good."

Tsubaki felt her cheeks pinken. "I did not need to know that." She said before looking back at the splash fight. Was she the only one with a normal orientation at this school? Honestly, Kiba was more than enough for her eye and time. Still, she had to admit what she was watching before her and beside her made things rather fun to watch from the sidelines.

"WEEEE!" The small girl called Nel was rolling with the waves that the Devils were creating and giggling like she was being tickled. Tsubaki had noted the girl seemed to not care or be affected by how much water she swallowed, in fact as she watched the girl spit it out in a high speed jet which sent Serafall spinning much to the Maou's delight. If there was one thing she had learned in this bath it was that this Nel was a strange and strong little girl….and everyone was crazy, but that seemed less important.

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Ichigo glanced up from his book hair still wet from his rapid cold shower as the sound of shouting and laughing reached his ears even with the distance from the bath, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. A small part of him wishing he was in there….and then that part was stomped to death by the rest of him, but it had been there.

It almost made him laugh and then it made him worry, but beyond that he was simply glad they seemed to be having fun. Nel certainly was he could sense it though their bond….still the question of who had brought her here and why was bothering him. Perhaps Sensei could shed some light if the cranky old women could be bothered to tell him.

He got up then and set down his book, when the girls got out of the bath he wanted to have something for them to eat, it felt like the right thing to do and would keep his wandering mind from fantasizing. He noted to himself that he was becoming quite good at this whole cooking thing, perhaps Yuzu would let him help her in the kitchen when he visited.

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"Onee-Sama," Sona said gently, as things calmed down, "Have you looked into the incident yet?"

The Maou smiled. "That was the first thing I did when I heard of it. Goodie twelve wings says it was not them, The Governor says it was not him and has asked for the prisoners to which I told him exactly where he could shove it….diplomatically." She added after seeing the look of horror on her baby sister's face. "So far nothing much, remnants of the Raynare group though they seemed pretty much shattered. The Church seemed eager to learn about the one called Freid, but again I told them to diplomatically shove it and that since they tried to harm a Devil in my sister's Peerage and my future boy toy that we were going to nuke the Raynare group off the face of the earth."

"Boy-Toy" Tsubasa said indignantly.

"He is going to toy with me, I am going to toy with him, there is love love with my sister and you," she leered at Tsubasa, "and short stuff" Koneko bristled at the description "so everyone wins."

"Sera." Sona squealed, her face heated to the point of magma. "This is so off topic!"

"Topic?" Serafall asked. "Oh right, well as a bright side to this whole affair I have some diplomatic chips I can cash in now, the only loser in this whole debacle is me, as I can't let out my seething rage." There was a pause as every Devil in the room held their breath. "Kidding!" She said with a smile, though no one seemed to have bought that.

Sona sobered up instantly at her sister's slip of the tongue. If her big sister was expressing her anger around her then that meant she was truly peeved, and for a being of her power level...well, that could spell disaster. Suddenly the whole thing with Ichigo made more sense, her playing, her teasing, her sister was working out the stress and wrath that she could not afford. Sona knew her expression had softened, knew it because of the look of self-deprecation that passed through her sister's eyes. Her Onee-Sama hated to bring work with her when she was visiting, hated when her job affected her. Sona leaned against her sister. "Thank you for helping us."

Serafall just smiled. "Your welcome So-tan."

"If there is anything I can do sis, just ask."

"Yuri yuri time?" the question was quiet, but excited.

Sona held back a blush that threatened to set her skin aflame, closing her eyes for a moment. "Every time." She muttered.

"I could ask Ichi-chan for het het time."

"No!" Sona shook her head in a panic.

Serafall laughed. "Kidding So-Tan, he wants to date first." She leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "So what do you say?"

Sona sighed. "Yes, Onee, we can play dress up and cuddle."

"Awww, Yuri Yuri makes it sound more naughty." Serafall pouted, then glanced over at Akeno and Asia and seemed to get an idea. Her smile when she turned back to her made the King blush, her older sister just grinned.

When Akeno saw them, she seemed to take it as a challenge, one Serafall accepted much to her sister's panic though soon Sona and Asia seemed to be in perfect sync.

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Ichigo pretend not to hear the noises that were coming from the bath, it was not his business, even if his imagination treated him to images that while...hot, were anatomically unlikely and some impossible.

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About an hour later, after an uneventful bath which did not leave him red-faced and half delirious like it seemed to have for Sona and Asia, Ichigo Kurosaki tucked little Nel into bed, the young Arrancar had been thoroughly exhausted by the day and given how big his bed was he had no issues with sharing it.

He ruffled her hair as memories of his time in Hueco Mundo flashed through his mind. While most of them were memories he could do without, Nel was not of those. There was a sudden flash as blue light filled the room and a magic circle manifested for a moment. A letter fell out and the light vanished, with Nel hardly stirring. He leaned over and picked it up and opened the letter. 'Ichi-chan I was planning on surprising you in your bed with a question, but So-Tan is wise and has me trapped next to her, so this is the second best thing. Now, you might not know this, but Sirzechs says Ria-tan and her peerage are going to have a rating game soon.' She was right he did not know that. "So I know how that goes, with all the last second training, so after you have your rating game let's go on a date to celebrate, as I am sure whoever you fight for will win. If your answer is yes to this, pinch my butt at breakfast tomorrow. I will take any verbal response, yes or no, as a no.' ….well he did know the girl was very forward.

'P.S. - Also make sure to go on a date with So-tan by herself. She is feeling a little left out and is waiting for you to ask. She is a classical girl, my So-tan.'

Ichigo let out a breath and moved to lie down. Nel seemed to sense his heat and rolled over to curl up against the side of his chest. "Well, she did tell me to do it." He said aloud.

Seriously, there had to be something wrong with him, that or devil biology and psychology was incredibly weird, such as sibling relationships….he had no idea how deep Sona and Serafall's relationship went or what was and was not part of it….and he himself was feeling more and more complete as he went on dates or spent time with…..his girls….that last thought felt more like arrogance than anything else.

On that thought he turned and curled an arm protectively over the sleeping Nel. He was surprised by how fast he drifted off, something about the Arrancar herself perhaps or he was just happy to have another person he cherished under his direct protection. Perhaps it was both, he reached over and dropped the letter on the table, he would need to see it first thing in the morning to remind him what he had to do. With those last thoughts he closed his eyes and fell into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

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 **Welp there you have it, Ichigo got his new familiar, there are dark clouds on the horizon, Issei still lost Slime-Kun and Asia...well she is having complicated feelings, ones that she had never experienced before poor girl.**

 **I honestly love writing this story and getting to act out the play I see in my head over and over again, getting it out like this is such a great stress relief.**

 **Anyway thank you to Aroneden for being a beta reader and proof reader.**

 **P.S**

 **#Adult Nel #Hottest Girl In Bleach**


	19. Chapter 18

**This is going to be a shorter chapter and I ask that you please read the bottom text after the chapter ends before committing I feel it is important. I did not want to put it at the end of last chapter nor at the beginning of the next so it sort of found its own spot.**

 **Anyway Hope you all enjoy.**

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"Aww she's adorable."

"Is she yours?"

"Why is her hair green?"

"Are you allowed to bring children to school?"

"So he's good with kids too, *sigh*, he's so perfect."

Those were a few of the comments he heard on as he made his way to school. Nel clung to his shoulder with the ease and manner she had gained on their journey through the world of the hollows. She was also quite the little ray of curious sunshine. Her head poking over his shoulder, questions flowing from her lips and greetings to all who so much as smiled her direction.

Now Sona had hidden the skull cap under an illusion, but at Nel's insistence had left the hair green. Ichigo had convinced her that he needed to keep her near and she had acquiesced, so long as Nel stayed in the Student Council room if she was not with him….that and she had apparently summoned one of her family servants from the underworld to be a babysitter.

"Ichigo, Nel!" He smiled as Asia came running over to them, her face bright. Nel, for her part, made a sound of glee and leapt off of his shoulder into the former Nun's arms.

"Sis sis." Nel cooed as the collective student body took a look at the scene and let out a collective, "Awwww". Asia hugged the arrancar tightly and seemed to glow with happiness. She shifted the girl to her hip and finished walking up to him.

"You're so lucky you can bring Nel with you."

Ichigo chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, I'm sure Reigo is fine and awaiting you after school." His ear twitched as he heard a phone going off. He glanced around and noted several students taking pictures and whispering to each other.

Motohama and Matsuda were in front glaring at him with such pure hate and envy that he found himself impressed. Asia did not seem to notice and with a clatter of feet Issei arrived breathing hard.

"Sorry," he gasped as he came to a stop, "My alarm didn't go off, I had to sprint the whole way."

Asia's face brightened at the sight of the boy and she slipped in between them, putting her very close to both. Nel waved to the boy "Hellow crybaby." Issei looked like he had been shot and more than a few students giggled.

"I'm not!" He said indignity

"Wor not? Den why was you crying the whole time Nel see you?"

"I was not crying! I was mourning a friendship that will never be." Even now he looked distraught over the death of the slime.

"Nel no get it."

Ichigo shook his head and tapped Asia on the shoulder, gently taking Nel back. The former nun pouted cutely and he patted her on the head. "You will get more chances Asia, I need to get her to the Student Council room, class is about to start."

She nodded her head while at the same time she seemed to push her head into the pats. Issei sighed and shook his head. "He is right, come on Asia we have to go." The girl looked radiant as he took her hand and led her off on a dash into the school.

"Get back here you bastard!" Motohama screamed as he and his buddy chased after the boy.

Ichigo shook his head, turned with Nel hanging from his shoulder and almost ran into Tsubasa, the well built girl standing almost right behind him, her arms folded and a sort of lopsided smile on her face. "You know, if this keeps up we are just going to have to find away to keep you away from girls."

Ichigo blinked. "Why?"

The Rook just shook her head and pulled him away by the wrist. "Come on, Kaichou wants to get some things done while we still have you around."

"You say that like I am going away."

"From what Kaichou said, you most likely are, for a week or so." He was reminded of Levi-tan's warning about the rating game. Once they were in the hall Tsubasa slowed and moved to wrap her arms around his.

"Outside of, or after school." He gently chided her. "I do not need to be on Sona's bad side again this week."

The Rook pouted. "But I don't know when I will get my next date, and it's not like I can just surprise you at your house, you live at Kaichou's house."

"Hmm," he nodded, "And I am guessing going to your house would be a bad idea?"

She nodded vigorously and even shuddered. "Like I told you, my dad does not think I am mature enough to chose for myself." She growled out that last part. "So right now I only get to see you at school."

"And why can't you come over to Sona's?" Ichigo asked. "It's not like the two of us spend every waking moment together or are even home at the same time. She has a lot of work, as you well know." The Rook gave him a dubious look. "Look, if this is going to work, if i'm really supposed to..." His mouth twitched. "Date all of you, then we are going to have to get used to being around each other." A smile touched his face. "I've seen the way you look at Sona, when she is in pain, when she needs you all, something everyone one of you in her peerage have, you all love her first and foremost as your King. And she loves you all back. Trust her, talk to her, tell her what you want and see what happens."

They were quiet as they neared the door to the Student Council room and he really hoped he had said the right thing. She paused before the door and looked up at him, took in a breath and let it out. "Ok, I will try." He gently pressed his forehead to hers.

"Thank You."

"In return, you're going to tell me what you left out about spending the night with Koneko."

His head snapped back his cheeks pinking at the memory "We didn't..."

She held up a hand. "You will tell me later." she grinned. "So I know what I have to top." He just stared at her as she turned, swaying her hips hard enough that her skirt slipped up high enough to reveal sky blue panties clinging tightly to a firmly toned butt. Her head turned and she winked at him and as he jerked his eyes away, his whole face red. "Ichigo will be in, in a minute." She said to the room and closed the door behind him.

Ichigo coughed and took the time to regain his composure, he felt almost betrayed by his body. The damn thing had started to react incredibly strongly and did not seem to be slowing down. With a shake of his head he checked to make sure his face was normal, shifted his pants to hide as best he could to hide any evidence of arousal and moved to get to work. The thought of paperwork was enough to calm down his lower half and he made a note of that, such a control method would be useful in the future.

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"We have a problem." Tsubaki said, busting into the Council Room. "Boy's were hiding in the girl's locker room, and while they were caught, most of the girls were half naked."

They all looked at each other and Ichigo got a sinking sensation. Sona stood up, and from her expression the camera incident was fresh on her mind. "We need to deal with them swiftly." She said, motioning for them to follow.

"Kaichou," Tsubaki stopped her, "there is one problem. The perpetrators were Matsuda, Motohama and," she hesitated, "Issei Hyoudou. One of the girls in the Locker room was his fellow Rook."

Those words sent a spike through his spine, a new emotion that he had never had the displeasure to experience. It was not jealousy or an emotion tied to that idea. If he was going to be dating multiple women it felt hypocritical to feel jealous about what they decided to do, if this was going to work he was as much theirs, as they were his. And while the idea of the girl's going off to form their own harems seemed a bit far fetched, it was a possibility he had considered.

No, this emotion was born out of the thought that someone he was in a relationship with, someone he was building something with, had been violated. The thought of someone breaking into her space, ogling her without her permission and it being someone who should damn well know and be better. Someone who he had just started to consider a friend…. That last word lit the fire in his being, whether it was anger or rage did not seem to matter. His spiritual energy went wild as he fully lost control, while the Devils could not feel the energy they could feel the shockwave of force that blew up skirts and sent hair flailing, pencils and cups, papers and even chairs rose into the air. The humans at Kuoh Academy all felt a sudden pressure, as a force engulfed them for a brief moment, the force enough to drive a few to their knees.

"Ichigo." Sona said.

Her voice cut through his anger like Zangetsu cut flesh and it died quickly, as his iron grip over the power of his soul returned and he let out a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes the entirety of the Peerage was staring at him in shock. "My apologies," he said "I lost control. It will not happen again."

Tsubaki faltered for a second, glancing to her King who, after giving her boyfriend a long look, nodded. "The Rook beat them severely, though nothing was broken...at least with the two humans, she then dragged off Issei."

"Rias possibly told her to do that." Sona pressed her glasses up her nose. "She can't afford to have him expelled." She grit her teeth. "But that means I can't very well expel the other two while leaving her pawn unscathed."

"He will not be unscathed." Ichigo said simply, most of his peerage flinched at how cold the words sounded. "That, I can promise you." Sona hesitated, her hand going to massage her forehead, before motioning them to follow her.

They moved quickly behind their King, and even as they started to meet a crowd, their sheer momentum and Sona's force of personality parted the students like water. Motohama and Matsuda were groaning on the tiled hall floors. Ichigo felt more than a little vindictive pleasure at seeing how roughly the two had been treated by Koneko. They looked more than a little bruised, each sporting a solid black eye among other minor injuries. Both were in the process of standing up with Sona fixed with with a glare that could have melted stone. "Run." One of the boys whispered, both turning only to find a wall of girls in their path, armed with books, brooms, buckets, backpacks. Anything really that they could get their hands on and all of it ready to deliver an even harsher justice. "Motohama, Matsuda." She did not put an honorific on their names. "You two will come with me." Her voice sounded as angry as one might expect but there was also a hint, just a hint, of….sadness.

The two boys found themselves surrounded by the Student Council, truly cutting off any route of escape. Ichigo kept quiet as they frog marched the two of them away from the dressing room, a seething flame still burned in his chest and only the smallest part of it was directed at those two. Still, even his iron grip on his soul let loose hints of his power and both boys were sweating and giving him furtive glances by the time they returned to the Council room. The boy's did not seem to notice the mess Ichigo's power had left. "Leave them in here with me." Sona said and glanced up at him. "I will leave Hyoudou to you." Ichigo nodded. "The rest of you, you all know the drill, interview, adapt and make sure this doesn't happen in the same way again."

"Yes Kaichou." They all said at once.

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Ichigo had to pause in the entrance hall and gather his thoughts. He heard his red-haired King's voice. "Why must you be this way?"

"Well, my friends dragged me into it." the boy replied. Asia made a sound that Ichigo took to contain levels of disapproval that he was not aware the girl had.

"But that did not stop you from ogling me." Koneko snarled. "I believe your words were, 'I'll save this forever in my brain!'?"

"Y-y-you heard that?" the boy whispered.

As Ichigo walked into the room, the boy turned his head at the footsteps and went pale as he noted the expression on his face. The room went dead quiet, Rias and Akeno both looking uncertain, Asia looked frightened and Koneko….Koneko looked up at him, at his expression, and nodded ever so slightly.

"Get up." Ichigo said simply.

The boy did so, seemingly before his brain could catch up. "Bouchou, I need to use the teleporter." Ichigo said walking by the boy.

His king hesitated. "Why?"

"Because I need to have a talk with that boy, man to man, so to speak. Because it seems no one in his life has done that." Issei gulped and Rias winced, but before she could speak he continued. "And this is a talk, not a euphemism for a beating, or a murder, I need to talk to him about his actions."

"I...are you sure that is wise right now?"

"Right now is the best time." Ichigo said firmly and pointed at the boy. "He just violated not only your trust as the leader of this peerage, he violated your Rook's privacy in almost the worst way possible." He could practically hear the boy wilt under his words. "This is no laughing matter, this puts into question our ability to trust him. What if some enemy uses a pretty face...or boobs to draw him out. What if he is tempted to give away information about us that is best hidden."

"I would..." Issei started to say.

"Do not speak until I tell you that you can." Ichigo's voice was calm, but there was a quality about it that cut through any noise the boy could make. His mouth clicked shut. "Now those are," he continued, "several extreme examples, but they are possibilities. This is something that has to be dealt with and I ask that you let me do so. I am a man, I am his teacher, and his fellow Peerage member, let me talk to him, please."

Rias sat down at her desk, her finger tapping rapidly on the wood, all in all she looked a great deal less happy than when he walked in. In fact if he was any judge she seemed to be willing to let this go. Unfortunately, he was not, that was just not how he worked. Rias let out a sigh, there was a red glow and when he heard her voice it was in his head. "All right, I will allow this, but I will be there as well, hidden you can be sure, but….you understand why I have to be there."

She was the King and if she was willing to let him handle this, that was really what mattered, and as long as Issei thought they were alone it would be fine. He nodded at her and turned. "Follow." He said.

The boy gulped and looked around, seeking any help, but in Akeno's face he only found her rather amused expression. Koneko of course had no mercy and Asia well….her eyes were stern. It was that last one that seemed to affect him the most. To make him realise just how badly he might have fucked up.

He stepped onto the teleportation circle and the moment Issei was at his side the circle flashed. They stood on the training grounds that both knew well by this point. Issei took several steps back "L-Look Ichigo-san," he babbled, "I did not know where they were taking me until, like, right before."

"At what point did you know?" Ichigo asked. "Was it when you saw the girls locker room sign? The locker you all hid in?" His eyes flared blue. "And at what point did you decide to go along with it, at what point did you decide to violate every single person in that room?"

"V-v-violate?" he sputtered.

Ichigo advanced on him. "Did I stutter? Was I not clear? You and your two friends," he almost spat that word out, "Violated every single one of those girls. You violated Koneko, your fellow Peerage member, your Family!" He took another step, his body becoming outlined in blue power. "Do you understand that?"

"I did not mean to..."

"THEN WHAT DID YOU DO!" His shout stirred the leaves on the trees around them. "At any point in this whole, stupid, act you could have walked at away. At any point in the locker you could have stood up and walked away, when your fellow Peerage mate was stripping in front of you, you could have looked away at the very fucking least." The boy was shaking under that barrage of words. Ichigo took in a breath and let it out. "Why did you do it?"

Issei looked away seeming unable to speak. "Are boobs really worth that much to you that you would throw away relationships for them?"

"A relationship with koneko?" Issei asked. "Right." He said sarcastically.

Ichigo's foot came down on the ground hard enough to crack the earth for a foot in every direction. "You fucking moron! Friends, comrades, there are more kinds of relationships than boy and girl. I considered you a friend that I could trust." Those last words echoed around them.

"I, I," Issei said, "I don't know why I did it, I could not think of a reason not to, I was there and they were there."

Ichigo swallowed as much of his rage as he could. "You are a Devil Issei, just like me. We are now creatures of desire, so it stands to reason following our desires would feel like the most natural thing. Hell, I don't think anyone else in this Peerage sees this as a big deal. They understand it, Koneko understands it, I understand it. And I feel hypocritical that the rage I feel is solely because you did this to her. I would be disappointed, I would still be having this talk if you hadn't of seen her, but it would be different. That is just some of the changes I see in myself, you seem to either not notice, or not care."

"I just love them, they are the best thing in the world and….and it's not like I will ever have anyone too…."

The last of the rage died away. "What Raynare did to you was horrible, and I know it has scarred you."

"Sure you know." Issei whispered. "But knowing and feeling are two different things."

"When I was nine I saw a girl on the edge of a river." Ichigo said. "I thought she was going to jump, I ran to help her despite my mother's warning. As it turned out it was the bait of a monster, the thing attacked and my mother got in between us and took the attack. She fell onto me and I had to listen as it devoured her, I had to lie there as her blood dripped over me, and that was where i stayed until the police found us." His tone was acidic "So don't you dare say i can't understand pain."

It seemed the boy did not have an answer to that statement, though perhaps it was the shock clear on his face. "You are hurt, I understand that, perhaps that even mitigates why you act like you do. But it was still wrong, it was still a betrayal of trust and trust is what will keep us alive as a group, as a Peerage, as a family."

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I did not think."

Ichigo sighed. "That is a start at least." The anger was still there, but the rage was gone and dead. "You put your life on the line to defend Asia, that tells me you are someone I could learn to respect. Someone I might call friend again, but you need to take a look at yourself Issei. You need to decide what kind of person you are going to be." His breathing was normal. "You also need a therapist, that is clear. I will see about Rias getting you one." Issei nodded once, face downcast. "Stand up." Ichigo said. "You have people to apologize to, you are going to apologize to everyone that was in that room." Issei nodded again.

"Also. Try to think a little next time, if you really need to see boobs that badly I am sure there are Devils Rias can put you in contact with who would be happy to take a contract like that. Honestly, it is probably a common request." Ichigo did not say he should get himself a girlfriend which, while much healthier, was clearly not something the boy was readly to do. But that was what a therapist was for. They stepped onto the teleportation circle and were gone.

Rias gently landed on the ground her face thoughtful. Her Rook had been right when he had said she and the others had not seen the incident as a big deal, but that was before she knew why it had happened….she was going to have to find some summoning papers for her pawn….and also pay for her family's therapist to transit from the Underworld to here on a weekly basis. While that was expensive, there were perks to being sinfully rich. However, what bothered her the most is how she had not seen this for what it was, a King was supposed to head off things like this. Hell, in a perfect world she would have been the one to have this conversation with her Pawn….come to think of it there was no reason why she could not. Her Pawn might react better to the softer approach and it would keep her mind off her impending doom for a little bit anyway. She stepped onto her circle and vanished in a flash of red.

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To say that it took a great deal of time for Issei to apologise to every single student that had been in that dressing room would be an understatement. Ichigo marched him though about half of them before school ended and then went to each and every home and was witness to Issei bowing and scraping before not only the girls, who were understandably angry, but the furious parents. By the time they stopped in front of Issei's family home he looked like a whipped cur, having been threatened in every way imaginable by a variety of very inventive, and very angry, parents.

Perhaps it was the fact that Ichigo was standing over him looking stern and angry, explaining to each person what was going to happen to the boy and how this was the start of his punishment. So to make a long story short, Ichigo ended the evening by explaining to Issei's parents just what their son had gotten up to and what was being done about it. It was this last part that seemed to stick the hardest, by the time he was standing outside his home Issei did not seem like he could go any lower.

But given that he had to accept the consequences of his actions, that had rather been the point. He would have to speak with Rias tomorrow to make sure what she had overheard would be put into action. He would pay for that therapy himself if need be. He let out a loud sigh, his face hurt from the constant frowning and honestly he had run out of any real anger around the fifth house they had visited.

He had been planning a date for Koneko tonight, but currently that plan seemed….wait, they were Devils….late nights meant nothing to them. He pulled out his phone, his mind racing through ideas, perhaps a date was not his best bet. Thinking back to his conversion with Tsubasa he typed a message into his phone. A few moments later Sona's voice spoke in his ear through communication. 'Yes?'

'May I invite Koneko and Tsubasa over just to hang out?' There was silence for a moment. 'You are invited too, but you live in your house.' He had no doubt she saw what he was doing and wondered what she thought of that.

'That...that sounds like fun, I'll pull out a few snacks.' There was a pause. 'And see if I have any teamwork games.' Guess she approved.

'Sounds like fun I will see you then.'

Her voice was a bit lighter when she answered. 'Yes, it does sound like fun.' Her tone changed 'How did your issue go?'

'Well I had him apologize to every girl in the room, and currently have any, and all, of his free time that is not with his Peerage filled with work at the school and or training with me. Once he leaves school however.' He shrugged although she could not see it. 'I plan on getting him counseling with Rias' help and see if I can get him some contracting paper that would get him the kind of devils who would be willing to….well you know.'

Most of that she seemed ok with, but that last part had a 'humm' of displeasure vibrating through their link. 'Hey I'm not doing it, but I think it would be better than having him take out his desires on the school at large.'

There was a pause for a moment then a long sigh. 'You are correct in that, though I wish he could find a way to fill that part of himself he feels is missing.'

'That is what the therapy is for.'

He could almost sense her nod. 'I hope so, I'll see you at home then Ichigo.'

'You too Sona.' The communion spell ended and he pulled out his phone again to make a few calls.

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 **I am ending the chapter here and I know this one is a little short but I feel the need to speak about a few things that I feel are important.**

 **First, I hope you noted how Ichigo thinks of a harem relationship. How one of his main concerns is the idea of fairness. If he is effectively in a semi-open relationship, how can he justify things such as being jealous of the ones In a relationship with him. As a human, he might not have been able to do that, but as a Devil it is plausible.**

 **That brings me to the second theme, the idea that being a Devil changes you more than just physically. For example, the show did not show or imply any real disgust or surprise from the cast when Issei got caught in episode 8. Now, this could have been the author ignoring what this would normally cause in a group. However, I take it to imply that Devils, as creatures of desire, see nothing special about one of their own following his desire, especially when it does not cause physical harm. The idea that being a Devil changes who you are and how you would think is not unique to this fic, but it is a major part of it.**

 **For me as an author this helps me sort out and make sense of the idea that a harem can work in dxd. The idea is pleasant enough in one's own fantasy, but an equal relationship of many people seems a bit difficult unless your very nature allows for such a thing. That your nature, as a new being, gives you the emotional and cognitive ability to be in a relationship with many people, for them to be in other relationships and still have it, still have an emotionally healthy being.**

 **Third, I would like to make clear, this is not an Issei bashing fic, nor even an Issei bashing chapter. This was character conflict between Ichigo and Issei, this was the two clashing.**

 **This was a man, who I don't think it would even occur to to do anything other than, perhaps, imagine girls in a private space such as a locker room, and Issei, who clearly had no real problem with it, once he felt that it was not his idea. Clashes like this are inevitable, but I chose to take the idea that Issei's mental state is more to blame than his, admittedly, untrusty morality when it comes to boobs. And friends.**

 **This fact is, what helps Ichigo to look past his anger and real hurt at feelings of betrayal is his acknowledgement of Issei's trauma and seeing his potential to be better than he is. Remember how Ichigo looks at friends and now his girlfriends. He is willing to die for them without hesitation, for someone to betray that unknowingly or just without real thought is a strike at the core of my interpretation of his being. But what does he do after a good yell and shame session? He tries to find solutions for his Peerage member, is that from being a Devil or is it that, despite his implication that they are no longer friends, he can't help but think of the boy as one? He really does not know.**

 **So to sum up the important themes in this chapter in a more concrete way.**

 **Ichigo looks at a harem relationship from a different than human perspective and feels that it would be wrong of him to stop any people in such a relationship from taking others for themselves. That fact that he is mostly ok with this thought worries him more than a little at how much this transformation out of all his transformations has had the most effect on who he is.**

 **Becoming a Devil is a big deal in my stories. It changes you fundamentally, perhaps not all at once, but quickly over the course of weeks. It changes the way you think and react and while this does not and could not erase what has come before, it will have effects. The way a Devil (Or at least my Interpretation of a DXD devil) a creature of desire, can process emotion and what they get satisfaction from, changes. This is not to say that all devils want a harem. Often they will want group, hell, just like Serzech you could simply desire one wife and partner. But, just like humans, everyone is different but the themes of the Devil, the theme of desire and mentality do remain the same.**

 **This is not an Issei bashing fic, this was character conflict, I do not find any particular pleasure in most bashing fics (except for Narubashing from Love Hina, seriously fuck that bitch). I did this because it is something that they would clash over and one of the girls being Koneko made it personal. If she had known about issei and been fine with it that would have changed things, but this Koneko, just as the one in the main series at this point, was not fine with it.**

 **Any way I doing plan on doing this often and the next chapter should be full sized. I hoped this helped show what I am trying to do with this story. The themes I am using and exploring and how I try to justify to myself both personally and in lore how these things can happen.**

 **Anyway, if you made it to here, thank you for your patience and you may comment or not as you so desire.**

 **P.S for those asking about Orihime I know exactly when she will enter the story. It has been planned since the beginning, don't worry it will come within the next few chapters.**

 _ **(Also I do not plan on doing an info dump like this again for a while if ever and thank you for your patience.)**_

 **Anyway love you guys, Fanboy out!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Hey Everyone this chapter is longer due to the last one being shorter so I hope you enjoy**

 **As always Aroneden thank you for looking over the chapter.**

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Issei did not seem all that happy as he noted Ichigo Kurosaki waiting for him. It was, of course, the early morning and like all students of Kuoh Academy he needed to get to school. He did not look like he had a good night and Ichigo took a moment to nod at his mother, who seeing him from the doorway mouthed 'Thank you'. Now, Ichigo had never told them or implied that his actions were what was keeping Issei from being expelled. Hell, as a member of a Peerage he was decently sure almost nothing would get the boy expelled. But, given that his parents seemed to have no inkling of their sons supernatural power, they had made the assumption themselves that since he was a member of the student council he had pulled some strings. Given that Issei had an essentially free ride to one of the best schools in the country, they were most displeased that he had done something to jeopardize that. That and the disappointment at his acts, which Ichigo felt was by far the best negative reinforcement that could have happened.

"What?" The boy asked.

"We are going to school." Ichigo said simply.

"So you can put me to work?"

"Not today." That made the boy pause.

"But you said..."

Ichigo began to walk and waved for the boy to catch up. "You did ok yesterday. You did not complain once and accepted the consequences of your actions. You will be working this off, but not today, tomorrow yes not not today. For now you will go to school though you should know how lucky you were, Matsuda and Motohama were suspended and very nearly lost their scholarships. Both have to go to a mandatory sexual harassment class in which they have to pass in order to be allowed back on campus."

Issei seemed to deflate. "So, because you stuck up for me I did not get expelled?"

"I am your teacher." He said simply. "Sona allowed me to work with you." He did not mention the fact that with Issei's connection to Rias he would not have been expelled. "Now, I do not plan on changing you, or beating you, or even trying to stop you from loving boobs. What I am going to do is teach you something about self control." He paused. "At least a self control you can apply in your life, if for nothing else then because your actions reflect on all of us." Not that the rest of the peerage, save for Koneko, seemed to really care all that much. Hell, if he read it right Koneko only really cared more than the others because she had been there.

"Well, I can tell you I'm never doing that again, it just was not worth it." And just like that Ichigo found that there might…. _might_ …..just be hope for the boy yet. "I mean I dreamed about them all last night, so that was amazing, but then I had to wake up, so it was not worth it." Ok While…. disappointing at least he was resilient….

Ichigo took in a deep breath and let it go. He could and would do nothing about dreams, they were his and no one else's and, like he had told Sona, there were limits to what one could do.

He had a few sayings that might or might not have an effect, but he was going to save them for when they were training, once he had him tired and exhausted he might be more open. Hmm…. thinking like that might make him a villain one day. "Oh, and since they took your phone away," he had overheard them threatening to do so when he had been there last night, "Rias wants to meet with us after school."

Issei nodded. "Ok, I will be there." They were quiet the rest of the way to school and Issei seemed to notice that other students were giving him a wide berth. He let out a sigh and hung his head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." He mumbled. "Why was I so stupid?"

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Ichigo stopped into the student council room and held out his hands on instinct to catch the flying toddler. "Itsygo!" She nuzzled her cheek against his chest.

"Hey Nel." He hugged her. "And thank you for taking her to school, Sona."

"Of course." She glanced up from her paper. "Happy to help."

"Nel-chan!" Reya called. "We have not finished your story."

Nel went rigid. "Oh, wight!" She wiggled out of his arms and bounded across the room faster than any creature her size and proportions should be able to. Reya giggled as Nel stole her lap while Ichigo took a moment to look at the woman next to Reya. Sona had called up one of her family's servants from the underworld specifically to help him deal with Nel. Because Nel was not a familiar that you could leave unsupervised. The woman wore a maid outfit, but not one made of fetish fuel, just a full length black dress with full length white apron, a collar, and a lace headpiece of white. She wore boots that lace up to her kneecaps and the one time the dress had shifted so you could see her legs they were covered by solid black leggings. All in all that made this women the most modest person in this school. She had light black hair and grey eyes that seemed to watch the world with a restrained amusement. She had not spoken to him much, but he liked her, and her kind but stern way seemed made to deal with people like Nel.

She favoured him with a smile which he returned with a nod. "Mori-San." he said.

"Kurosaki-San." And that was the extent of most of their day's conversion and he was fine with that.

"Mmhhhh." His head turned to the source of the sound as Tsubasa hugged him from behind. Sona's eye twitched, but she did not say anything and Tsubasa let go before there could be any hint of pushing the limit.

"Tsubasa," he smiled, "You seemed like you had fun last night."

"I got to beat you at something, that alone makes it worth it." Sona sighed and Ichigo just let her have it, video games were not his thing really. Manga and anime were much closer.

"Then I'm glad." He moved over to his desk and set to work on the latest batch of paper on it, he needed to get it done quickly before he ran off to class. "Can I help?" he glanced up at Tsubasa surprised and glanced over at her desk which was completely empty. "I finished mine."

"You hate paperwork as much as I do." Ichigo replied.

"I do," the Rook said before sliding her chair next to his, her shoulder touching his own, "Now what are you working on?"

It took a moment before he could respond as his heart did a little flip, and a warm feeling spread along his body. He could see Sona looking at both of them her mouth quirked in a small smile. "Well," he replied, "First is this order from the Tennis Club for new rackets." He gave Sona a look "It seems they were broken somehow."

Tsubasa got her trademark grin and turned to look at her, rapidly reddening, King. "I wonder how that happened?" she asked.

Sona made a few threats under her breath and focused on the paper in front of her with an intense stare. Both of them laughed, along with Tsubaki and Reya, even Mori put her hand over her mouth. Their King growled like an angry wolf, but pretended to ignore them. "Well," Tsubasa said at last, "I have been here longer than you, let me show you a few tricks, Strawberry." While not as subtle his heart did a little flip again. It seemed his girls could even make old insults endearing….his girls….that...thought was hard to get used to.

"I would love to hear of a shortcut." He replied instead, and the Rook grinned at him and he guessed this was going to cost him something later, perhaps when they were alone.

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It was luck that had him arrive at the Occult Club just as Issei, Asia and Kiba arrived. The Knight gave him a nod and opened the door for them all. Given that Rias had called this meeting and it had seemed serious, this was probably what Serafall had told him about. Issei was subdued still and did not even say hello as they entered. Koneko was there, her face placid as she sat on the couch. Their eyes met for a moment and he caught just a hint of the worry she was hiding. Akeno smiled at them, giving Asia a much warmer smile, and nodded at him. Rias was at her desk, hands clasped and looking pensive.

There was, however, a new face in the room and Ichigo cursed himself for his inattention. The moment he saw her his senses gave him the impression of overwhelming power. On that scale alone he would have placed this woman up at the peak of the Goto 13's captain list in pure raw power. Only surpassed by Yamamoto and Kenpachi in that regard though he had no idea about skill. She was a tall woman, taller than Akeno, with grey hair tied in a braid that ran down her back and over her hips. Her grey eyes flicked to him and over him seeming to dismiss his presence. He was treated to seeing a second woman in maid's clothing this day. Though hers covered just as much as Mori-San, she lacked the apron and instead had some sort of overshirt corset tied under her chest which gave emphasis to her impressive body. It was modest but did not give the sense of modesty, an odd combination.

Rias looked up at them and nodded. "Good, you are all here." She gestured to the woman. "This is Grayfia, my brother's Queen and Wife." She then introduced them to the woman as well.

"A pleasure to meet you all." The woman said with total politeness.

"Since everyone is here..." His King began, but even as she spoke Grayfia interrupted.

"Mistress, may I explain?"

Rias shook her head. "No it is my..." she was interrupted again as power flared in the room, a fiery glow flashing into a circle of red, followed by an actual pillar of fire. In the center of the flame what started as a shadow coalesced into a recognizable shape. The man wore a burgundy blazer with matching pants, a white dress shirt with a high collar studded with gold buttons, several of which had been left unclasped. He had blond hair that looked to have been carefully styled to look messy, that or Devil Magic was at work. Ichigo was still unclear on the limits of that. The man had his back to them and spoke with a casually arrogant tone….granted Ichigo had heard Byakuya talk and this kid had nothing on that man, but it was a decent attempt nonetheless. "How many years has it been since I visited this human world?"

He turned, revealing a hard face with a casual smirk. "Missed ya, Rias."

If his King's glare was any indication, she did not have any love for the one saying her name. His eyes flicked between the man and Rias and several thoughts began to click into place. Issei was also looking and leaned over to whisper. "Who is this guy?"

"I don't know." Ichigo replied.

The man's eyes flicked to them as if affronted by the fact that they spoke or perhaps that they did not know him on sight. Grayfia spoke before he could however, "This man is Riser Phenex-sama, a Pure-blood, High-class Devil, Heir to the Phenex Clan and the Fiancé of the Gremory Clan Heiress."

That last part seemed to stun Issei, and Asia into silence though Ichigo was too busy staring down the proud Devil. "It seems you have added some chafe since I last checked in on you Rias." His eyes flicked up and down and just like Grayfia he seemed to dismiss Ichigo. "Not much of a showing really, the humans you just decided to turn into Devils?" He shook his head and flicked his eyes to Asia. "Though at least this one is quite cute." The girl gulped at his gaze and stepped aside into Ichigo's shadow.

Riser rolled his eyes and turned his full attention back to Rias "It's been so long darling, you don't call, you never write." He moved his hand through his hair. "A man might think you were avoiding him?"

He seemed remarkably composed given the level of the glare and the clearly greater power Ichigo could sense inside Rias, compared to this man's own. "Hey Rais's slave," he waved a hand at Akeno, "Make some of that amazing tea I seemed to remember you being able to make." Akeno's face never so much as shifted from her kind smile, though what was behind that look Ichigo could not have guessed.

"When I heard you were coming, Raiser-Sama, I prepared them." Akeno replied.

Grayfia nodded at her. "Well done" then her head turned to Riser "may I ask why you are here Phenex? The Gremory family did tell you we would handle this matter."

"Does a man need a reason to come and see his lovely fiancé ?" Riser moved over towards Rias who never so much as twiched, her glare only got sharper. "Spend some time before the wedding, get to know each other and all that." He reached out a hand and for a microsecond Rias flinched.

Anger flared inside his chest, this women had helped save his life who had helped given him his powers back, she was stronger than this man before her, yet...she was scared... Riser froze, not though any volition of his own. It was simply the fact that his hand, a bare inch away from his fiancé was currently caught at the wrist. Ichigo had the sharp satisfaction of seeing both this man and Grayfia stare in shock. To be honest he did not remember deciding to move but when he did it had been in probably the best Flash Step he had ever performed. Issei, Asia, Kiba, Koneko, even Grayfia had simply not seen him move. "She does not wish for you to touch her." Ichigo said in a mild tone. There was a strain as Ichigo's strength, powered by a Rook, his own personal power and the Blut of the Quincy, seemed to match the strength that this man was willing to use at this moment.

"Ichigo, stop." Rias snapped. The girl had her hand up, which had stopped Grayfia, who had just taken a step. He met her eyes, they were strong again, hard, he nodded and let go.

"That...is some grip you have there Rook." Riser allowed.

Ichigo's eyes flared blue for a moment and the High-class Devil paused as Ichigo gently moved to the side. The Devil glanced from his hand to Rias then back over at Ichigo before slipping it back into his pocket. Ichigo noted that Grayfia was now staring at him and had not stopped, her expression blank. "I could have your hand for that, Low-class," The man said in a threatening tone, causing Asia to gasp in horror. Ichigo's gaze never flickered, not even once. "But I suppose I can't be one to throw stones about a slave with a desire to protect its King." He laughed. "Really, Rias. We are going to be married you know. Touching, and so much more," he dragged out that last word, "Is going to be involved."

Issei bristled at that remark, as did the rest of the peerage save for Akeno, Rias and Ichigo. Well Asia was trying to bristle, it was kind of adorable. "Raiser, I have told you many times before, I have no intention of marrying you." She stated plainly.

"But Rias, I doubt your family will be able to cater to your selfish ways forever." He laughed. "The bloodlines need to carry on and all that. Is my bloodline really so bad?"

"I have nothing against your family, nor do I wish to see its blood die out, but whom I marry is MY choice," The last word was almost spat into his face. The final words, 'and you are not it.', left unsaid.

Riser sighed, running a hand through his blond hair and when he spoke it was in the manner of one who had said the words a million times. "Pure-blooded Devils drastically decreased in numbers after the last war, such a thing affects all Devils as the greatest powers of our species dwindle to nothing. Your _father,_ " he put a strong emphasis on that, "And mine thought our arrangement through thoroughly when they made this decision, they considered everything that is important."

His King's lips moved, though no words came out. Ichigo could read them plain as day, it was in the way her fist tightened or the small drop of blood that slipped between them. She had said, " _Everything except what I want."_

"My family panics too much about this," she spat those words out, "I will not say this again Riser so let me make this plain as day, I WILL NEVER MARRY YOU."

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Riser's hand came out of his pocket and moved with astonishing speed, freezing a bare millimeter before her skin. The man's eyes had once again caught the odd power that seemed to burn behind Ichigo's eyes. This time it was yellow, it was beastal, it was not a power Riser could sense, not one he could recognize, but there was something in it that sparked his senses, something very much like danger. He flicked his eyes to Grayfia, the Ultimate Queen, and noted the woman was very much on edge, he too had noticed her gaze had never left the orange haired brat since that little speed trick he pulled.

He snapped his fingers it in front of her face and moved it back down, he could barely sense anything from this boy, he had at first thought it because of weakness, but perhaps he was hiding something, plus he did not come here for a fight, just a bit of psychological warfare. "Listen to me well, Rias Gremory." He said her full name. "I am the poster child of the Phenex Clan, I cannot allow myself to lose face." He turned his gaze to her servants. "Even if it means burning your slaves to ash." Riser felt a hint of annoyance when the orange brat did not even bat an eyelash rather in a most disturbing manner a black color began to replace where the white of his eyes had had been. He had to force his next words to be utterly calm as a surge of unfamiliar fear ran up his spine. His Devil power flared in response to the anger such a response drew and helped make his point. "I will drag you back to hell with me."

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Ichigo watched as Rias drew on her power seeming to call up as much as she could and only barely matched Riser. It was odd...she had a sea of power churning in her soul and yet she seemed to draw on none of it...could she not know about it?

That, at least, was what the rational part of his mind was thinking. The other part was contemplating extreme violence. The threat to his friends, his family, the words to his Shikai were on his lips begging to be spoken. He knew it was not the time, and yet he did not care. This man had threatened those he loved, those he cherished. That could not be allowed. " **Agreed!** " His hollow answered, the first words he had heard from it in a long time.

His soul responded, a blue energy wrapping around his body, visible to the devils, but unsensible. Riser tensed as the air became pregnant with violence and he looked to be attacked on two sides.

"Please stop this at once." There was no visible manifestation of power, but both Riser and Rias had their auras suppressed instantly. Ichigo's soul did not waver however, as he felt Grayfia express her power. Her grey eyes were locked on his and one of her hands flexed ever so slightly.

"Ichigo." Rias said, though he did note there was a note of pride in her voice. He let his power fade though his hollow like eyes remained, he was far too angry for that to vanish. "Rias-Sama" the maid said, "I am here on orders from Sirzech-sama and I will not let anything happen for his sake."

Riser pulled both of his hands out of his pockets and raised them in surrender. "For his prized Queen to say that, you have even me scared."

"My Master and his father foresaw that this would happen," she continued, "They have instructed me to carry out a plan for this occurrence."

"What do you mean Grayfia?" Rias was frowning.

"If the young mistress was to exert her will strongly enough against the arrangement then it will be settled by a Rating Game, once and for all."

Issei muttered that he had heard that phrase before, but Ichigo was not paying attention. Thankfully Kiba was and gave the boy the ten second explanation.

Riser laughed and his shoulders relaxed. "Is that right?" He smiled at Rias. "Just to make sure in this case is this your full team of slaves?"

"What if it is?" Ichigo noted the way Rias said that the words had not been a conformation...odd.

"Well." The Phenex said, and snapped his fingers. The red circle appeared again and a pillar of flame exploded once more, and this time fifteen shadows became visible in the flames, and as the light died down they revealed fifteen girls. The girls came in all heights and seemed to cover the entire gamut of fetish fuel, all the way from almost loli to near milf.

Issei spoke. "He has a full set of fifteen pretty girls?"

Ichigo sent a glare his way that shut his mouth so quickly he almost bit his tongue. Ichigo almost smiled when his eyes looked back over the Devils of Riser's peerage. His eyes, solid black with glowing yellow irises, seemed to be too much for any of them to look at, save two. A tall woman with long purple hair looked back, though he noted her guarded stance. A girl about as tall as Koneko in a pink dress with long blond ringlets in her blond hair seemed to be unaffected or at least unafraid.

"You do have an interesting animal as a slave Rais." Riser's eyes were on him. "I've never seen eyes quite like his before, and to touch me so easily you must have him trained pretty well."

There was a pause at his words and Ichigo spoke. "Burn them all to Ash?" Riser cocked his head in confusion. "I wonder if you would back up those words, would you really kill them because you fell pissy?"

Riser snorted. "For the honor of my house I will do what I must." He glanced over Rias's peerage. "I'll tell you what, I'll just get rid of the trash and keep the others as bed warmers, does that make you feel better?" Around him his peerage snickered.

"Well, that makes this easy." Ichigo said. "You are a monster, and I know what to do with those." His smile must have caused the hint of unease he saw in the man's eye. "Rias Gremory is someone I cherish, she helped to save my life, she helped to give me my powers back." His face softened as his eyes flickered to his King. "Someone who I will protect."

"Ichigo." Rias blinked and stared at him as if she was doing so for the first time.

He met the man's gaze, his eyes hard again. "And you dare to threaten her, to threaten them?" His soul's power welled up inside him. "I will not allow that to happen." He let it all go, all the power he could call up in this sealed state, and the room was abruptly filled with blue power. Though none of the Devils could sense it, all could see its effects, could feel its effects. Hair and clothing pushed back by a wind that was not there. Skin that prickled as the power passed over them, a sense of foreboding deep in the brain, a feeling of wrongness that none could place. And that was before the threads of red began to seep out of the Hybrid, before a piece of white began to from on his cheek and slowly gather spreading across his face. What emerged was a white mask that covered the whole of of his face, lined with teeth and two black lines that passed over the eye slots. Within them the black eyes with burning yellow iris' seemed to magnify in intensity. " **Do not threaten them again Riser Phenex.** " His words were distorted by the hollow mask and behind him he could feel his fellow peerage members flinch. Well, almost all of them, Akeno was looking at him now and her expression was definitely not fear, though he did not have time to analyze it.

It took a moment before Riser spoke and when he did his voice was calm and even amused, but it was a mask, you could see it in his eyes, eyes that showed the sudden worry under his own social mask. "Well, well, well, what kind of creature did you turn this time Rias?" He shrugged. "No matter." He nodded at Ichigo. "Well spoken. We will have to see if you can back it up in the game, won't we?" He shrugged. "I'll give you ten days to whip this peerage into shape, at least give me a challenge." Somehow the words had the tone of one asserting his disdain and masculinity.

Ichigo noted that Grayfia had moved to his side at some point, as a seeming counterpoint to his earlier stunt she had moved without anyone noticing. She was not touching him, but she was close enough that it was clear she would intervene if she had to.

"The game then." Rias said recovering her composure.

Riser nodded at her and spared one last look at Ichigo before nodding and he and his peerage vanished in a pillar of fire. When that sound died away there was no one speaking in the room Ichigo closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, gathering the anger inside him and forcing it down with a careful hand he reached up and pulled the mask gently off his skull. He looked down at it noting the changes and trying to understand what it meant for him. He sighed and with a mental command it dissipated into black energy.

"Well," he said, "It seems we have some work to do?"

"Um." Kiba said looking around. "Right, but...I think I speak for everyone when I say, what the hell was that?"

"You all have heard my story."

"I have not." Grayfia said

"You don't count, you're not part of the peerage." He said.

The woman took that statement remarcably well and simply nodded. "So that was part of your power from before?" Rias asked. She was still looking at him oddly and it was an expression he could not quite place.

Issei tugged on his jacket and he glanced down at the boy, brown determined eyes stared up at him. "At the risk of getting punched for quoting Strike the Blood, it is not 'You will not allow it', it is we who will not allow it." Ichigo blinked and Issei scratched the back of his head. "What I mean is, you looked like you were going to take them on alone, that's not how this words. That man was a dick and he does not deserve Bouchou." Grayfia raised an eyebrow at the boy, though she somehow did so without having her eyes leave Ichigo.

Asia made a sniffing sound, looking up at him and seeing his clear eyes, she whimpered and hugged him tightly, causing Koneko to bristle as the girl seemed to overcome her own shock at the turn of events. "I'm sorry for scaring you." He put his hand on her head and to his surprise the girl did not flinch.

"It's ok." She mumbled. "You weren't scary at us." She let go, looking a lot more reassured. "And Issei is right, I might not be able to help much, but I'm going to help too."

Kiba sighed. "You people are going to put me to shame." He glanced at Rias. "We are all with you, you know that right?" Koneko nodded and Akeno favored her King with a real smile.

Rias pulled her eyes from him and looked over the whole of her peerage. She turned from them as they caught a glimpse of her eyes growing moist. "Thank you." Hope and fear warred in her voice as she composed herself.

"Grayfia." she said.

The woman did not move from her spot, nor did her eyes turn. However she was scanning him, or whatever she was doing, if it had been any harder his clothing would have burned under the intensity. "Mistress?" she replied.

"Can I count on you to tell my father and brother about this turn of events."

"Of course Mistress." She at last let him out of her gaze. "Be here in ten days and be ready." She nodded at them. "It was a pleasure to meet you all." Her gaze paused to linger on Ichigo once again before a circle of red flared under her and she was gone.

Ichigo let out a breath. "That women has a hell of a glare."

Rias let out a breath. "You frighten her," she said, "I don't think I have ever seen her frightened before." Her eyes returned to him. "What was that?"

Ichigo pondered that statement, once upon a time he would have had an easy answer now…. "That was an expression of my power, the power I had before I became a Devil, a piece of me forged from the monsters I fought, my inner hollow." There was a surge of agreement and he know that the hollow was listening. "Just as Nel is a hollow who became more like a Shinigami, I am a Shinigami who became more hollow and from that gained power."

Rias rubbed at her temples. "That was not helpful, I will have to get the details later." She was looking more and more like herself. "So, ten days." she turned to pick up her phone. "I better talk to Sona, we are going to need to make the most of them...oh, yes and your parents." She nodded at Issei.

"Right." The boy said.

A small hand slipped inside his own, but Koneko said nothing and the action seemed to go unnoticed by the rest of the group. She gently squeezed it and he squeezed back. They let go at the same time and Ichigo turned to Rias. "How soon can we leave?

"As soon as I can manage." She smiled a little, though the act was a strain. "I have been meaning to do this for a while, but now is as good a time as any."

"And what is that?"

"The basics." She replied.

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Sensei's house was quiet as he finished his hike up the mountain. Given that Rias planned to be gone first thing in the morning, this would be his only time for training with this woman. The first time he had come here after the job it had been mostly a question and answer session about who he was and a more focused racap of his life story.

Now he had least had hope that this time would bear results. He took off his shoes and entered the home. Sensei, as it turned out, was sitting on a chair with a bottle of Sake and the television playing The Sweet Toothed Salary Man. Her eyes flicked to him. "And here I thought today was going fine." Ichigo just nodded at her and waited, she glared at him for a few seconds before moving out of her chair and mournfully turned off the TV. She made a motion with her hand and a walking stick flew out of an adjacent room and into her hand. Ichigo remembered her describing herself as half Quincy, half psychic.

She moved over to him leaning on the stick for support, at his raised eyebrow she rolled her eyes. "I'm old brat, very old and just because I can use Ransotengai does not mean I want to do it all the time. Its hard and a pain in the ass just like you."

"No idea what you just said." Ichigo replied.

The old woman paused at his feet. "You create strings of Reiryoku and with your brain you control the strings and attach them to your body and use it as a puppet. I am uniquely suited to that particular technique." Her head tilted up. "Well brat, what are you waiting for? Pick me up!"

"What?"

"We are not training here, this place is a bitch to clean and I don't feel like moving today." Ichigo stared down at this cranky old woman and felt the urge to just laugh. Thankfully he resisted that and picked her up without complaint. "Now get us over to that rock." She ordered.

With his quick movement skills they arrived in short order and he resisted the urge to drop her on her ass, but decided that was not the best impression to make….and she did seem very old he doubted it would hurt her, but you never knew. With gentle care he lowered her to the flat ground he landed on. She let out a sigh and looked around. "Been awhile since I came here in person," She muttered, "Astral Travel is so much easier on the body." With a shake of her head she set herself and put the tip of her stick on the ground leaning on it with practiced ease.

"Before we start I want you to understand what I can show you is not the normal way Quincy are taught. I threw away that part of myself connected to those people, I have remained in this place for years upon years."

"How long?"

She paused for a time. "This place has several effects on ones body, it was made by a genius, a powerful magician, in his own time, obsessed with immortality as many tend to do. He build this place as a stopgap, an alternate plane where the rules of time stop applying." Her mouth twitched. "Of course there was a problem with that, once one steps out of this place time will take the back pay on what you owe. Now, he didn't really care. If everything had gone according to plan he would have gained immortality before leaving and that would not have mattered."

A few questions popped into his head and he asked the stupidest one before he could stop it. "How in the hell do you get TV?"

The women paused, but instead of a sarcastic remark she grinned. "That is a secret and my most precious." With that statement she continued. "The magician met his end at the hands of a cranky old woman who needed this place more than he did...it helped that he had quite the bounty on his head. He was really into necromancy and while not, in and of itself, a bad thing he had a habbing of kidnapping local girls, keeping them around as fuck toys and then killing him for his experiments." The matter of fact tone in her voice was chilling.

"How?"

"That was the fun part. You cannot get into this place the brute force way or at least most things can't. So I disguised myself as a vivacious young woman and let his pets kidnap me." She smiled at the memory. "They were very kind, they bathed me, and prepared me just the way that man liked his women. You can imagine his surprise when he pulled back the covers and saw my wrinkly ass." Her laughter bubbled forth for a moment. "As he recoiled in horror I took that moment to kill him right then and there." She pointed her finger at a standing rock. "Bam!" A white light flashed from her finger tip and blew the top of the rock off. "Right in the head." Sensei sighed. "Of course all his pets lost there animating force and I had to spend the better part of a year getting rid of them in that swamp." She rolled her shoulders with audible pops. "That is how I came into this place, anyone who asked me about it I told them I built it. Saves on the explanations and makes me seem more impressive than I really am."

Ichigo looked her up and down. "You must have been very good at disguises."

Her mouth twitched. "You could say brat, but you have not asked the most important question."

Ichigo went over her words in his head. "You needed this place more than he did?"

"Bingo!" She sighed. "I needed a place where I could avoid a doom, one I did not know when was coming and would afflict me even if I died. Sort of a lose lose situation. Since I was a cranky old bitch however, I decided to stick it to that doom and took this place, where I am out of its reach and I do not die. So in answer to your original question "I have been here since Japan still had morons wandering around with swords and screaming about honor."

"You...seem sufficiently modern."

"Ain't got much else to do brat."

Ichigo shrugged. "What was this doom?"

She gave him a look. "That is not something for today. So for starters we will go with the Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Destruction Arrows)."

"You mean the bow?"

She rolled her eyes. "If you want to be a little bitch who puts tradition above everything, sure." Ichigo pursed his lips at that. "The Heilig Pfeil is a method to unleash the primary method of Quincy assault, but one does not have to be a slave to stupid, worthless notions." She raised her finger and shot out another bolt, taking off the middle part of the boulder. "That was Heilig Pfeil." White light gathered into her hand, forming what looked like a single shot pistol. "This is Heilig Pfeil." She finished off the boulder with another shot. "The trick is to finding a method of attack that works for you." She shrugged. "For the dumb ones, that is bow. For ones with brains bigger than a walnut it is something much more portable. Hell even a crossbow will work, so long as it is one handed."

"I know a Quincy." Ichigo shrugged. "He seems quite handy with his bow."

"You mean the one you told me about with his custom bow that can fire thousands of arrows at once?"

"...point taken."

"I noticed you have not whined about having a functional way to use the arrows."

"It feels like a crutch." He replied "It just happens, I don't know the how or why. Hell, I didn't even know the name of the ability." Which, if his experience with the Getsuga Tenshou meant it was now stronger, things with names often were. "I do not think it is going to remain when I push my power further." He felt no guidance from Zangetsu and so continued. "And even if it does, I want to know that I do not need it, it can break after all."

"Good enough reason as any." Sensei stated. "So we start with the basics, you can sense spiritual power, you can do some things with it, but it mostly comes from your own pool. I was lucky enough to have such a source as well, not a common trait among the people. So you need to learn how to supplement your power with that around you, save your own power for when you really need it." She tapped the rock with her walking stick, drawing something into it. He felt spiritual power and the odd mental sensation of her psychic might. The stick whipped up and traced the air around his hands and bands of golden light latched onto them. "This will help you to not draw on your vast power, most people would be cut off completely, but you would just have to make a concerted effort to break them." She glared at him. "Don't, of course, unless you want to leave and never come back, which would be great. I will take them off when we are done."

He could feel his power being suppressed by what she had done, but not greatly so, save that the power his body naturally drew on was cut off. "The basics of the Quincy is the power and authority that our maker bestowed on us. Here, away from his influence, that changes. A great deal of early Quincy training is learning to do what the body does naturally. For me and for you that is not the case, even your skill with Blut seems to be based on something you learned in your past."

Ichigo had to think about that, calling up long ago memories of a Bount. "I did use spiritual power as a sort of armor, trying to keep my own emissions wrapped around my body, like armor."

She nodded. "That is a good example. The way I will teach you is about genetics and will. We do not have the authority or the blessing of the Quincy creator, or at least I don't. You say you are severed from his influence, at least his divine sort, he clearly is taking more conventional routes with you. But it amounts to the same thing."

"So what am I learning?"

"Why, that's easy," she gave a dark smile, "To pretend to be a psychic."

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The splitting headache was slow to disappear and the night was gone by the time he left the old lady's realm. He had expected and prepared for this and all it meant was he was going to need an early night to catch up on sleep and still get up early tomorrow. The air felt cool on his face as he shot across the sky, arms tucked in next to his sides. He was passing into an area of untouched wilderness. It was far away from where he had started to train Issei, and looked a bit greener, a bit softer. As the light rose he found himself flying along a path in the mountains. Despite the tired feeling in his core he picked up speed, gaining height as he crested the mountain path and stopped to hover above a path leading down to a lovely valley. And smack dab in the center of it was a freaking mansion. It was a confusing sight to be honest, he could not see any sort of path that would lend itself to building such a home. In fact with how untouched the valley looked the house might as well have come out of the ether and landed on the ground.

He was going to chalk it up to super-rich Devil magic and then put it out of his mind. Shooting off like an arrow and covering the distance in a mere thirty seconds he paused again to hover near the house, the whole peerage was outside which told him he was a little late. The ladies were standing together watching the other two men of the Gremory Peerage battle it out with wooden swords. He remained quiet, not wanting to distract either one. It only took a few seconds to see how it was going to end. Issei had never been taught to use a blade though he was doing better than he might have with his better physique from Ichigo's training. He got in a few desperate dodges before he made an ill advised attack which Kiba dodged and disarmed him handily. He had to wonder at the point of this, though perhaps they were seeing if he had any talent for it.

He landed behind the girls, Koneko turned her head, smiled and leaned back against him. "Ichigo-san." Akeno nodded at him. "Did you have fun?"

"If getting my brain turned inside out can be considered fun, then yes." The Queen laughed, her large bust jiggling in place under her tight fitting t-shirt. He turned his eyes away before they could get him into trouble.

"How did it go?" Rias asked, her eyes on her Pawn and Knight, who was giveing Issei an object lesson in awareness.

"As well as could be expected." He replied. "I made some progress according to her." But not enough for his liking and according to the old hag about as fast as a Quincy toddler. "What are you doing with this?"

Rias looked at him, looking quite modest and still fetching in her full body tracksuit. "Looking for areas of talent, mostly to see if there is anything he is really good at and adjust accordingly."

His mouth twitched. "Am I next?"

"No, we know you are good with a blade, though you will be attending Akeno's classes on Magic, perhaps it will help you call out your Devil power, as I understand it you still have not been able to draw it out."

It was something he needed to work on, so he felt no great issue with that statement. Koneko tilted her head up at him just to watch. To his discomfort and interest she had chosen to wear her bloomers and the damn things clung tightly and distractingly to her body. He just smiled down and leaned over to kiss her forehead which had the added benefit of taking his eyes away from that hated piece of fabric, the act drew a cry of "Ara Ara." from the resident Queen and a gasp from Asia. Ichigo pulled his head back up and closed his eyes searching until he found Nel's spiritual power. The Arrancar was playing with Mori it seemed, Sona having been kind enough to lend him her services while he was on this training mission.

"Focus." Rias chided gently and waved Issei and Kiba over, the boy's face fell a bit as he noted who had just arrived. "Akeno please take Issei, Asia and Ichigo for some magic lessons, Koneko you and Kiba can come with me."

Koneko let out a sigh, but then got her game face on and nodded, following Kiba and her King as Akeno gave them a grand smile. "Come with me you three and don't worry, I don't bite."

"Much." Asia whispered.

Ichigo frowned glancing from the former nun to Akeno remembering his words to Sona about inserting oneself in the personal lives of others….but it was Asia….and Asia was a Devil too and if he knew anything about the girl, it was that she made it known when she was scared or uncomfortable.

Now, as if to make things more odd, the girl quickened her steps until she was between him and Issei close enough that they brushed against her was they walked. Her expression as she did so was one of complete peace and, if Akeno's glance back was any indication, she found it quite the amusing and adroable sight.

Devils….and he was one of them...oh well.

Akeno lead them inside the mansion and into a large room with a single table in the center, the walls were green and the fireplace looked to have been made of marble. This place screamed RICH, with all caps. The Queen looked completely at ease in her Kuoh Academy gym uniform, though thankfully for his sanity both she and Asia wore track pants.

"Well, let's get the basics out of the way." The Queen started. "The kind of magic we, as Devils, can learn, the first and most common is, as we have described to you, the Power of Imagination. It is the act of calling forth your power, shaping it with your imagination and having a good sense about how much power you need to accomplish what you wish. This power is extremely versatile and it means that if you have the power and skill you can accomplish many things by will alone. This is what most normal Devils will use in their lives as it comes naturally to our very beings and this is where all devils start. If you show talent, or just plain interest, you can move on to human magic which runs on a very different system, a much more rigid and difficult task to learn. The advantage to that being, if you know a spell, how to cast it, what it is and the calculations that go into it, the spell will do something exactly. Some of these spells can be varied by how much power you can put into them but, for the most part, I would describe it as drawing a perfect script or doing high level math."

She nodded at them. "Asia and Issei, you two have both shown the ability to summon your Devil power and I want you to do so by gathering it in your body and concatenating it outside of yourself." She held up a hand and purple light gathered into an orb above her palm.

"Ichigo-san, you say that you can't draw on your Devil power?"

"Yes, I have tried but…" How could he tell her that, as far as he could guess, the devil power he was generating was somewhere at the bottom of the ocean inside his soul. Or at least that was how it was being represented.

"I understand." She came forward, standing at only five inches under his height. "There are a few methods to tease out one's inner power, though for the most part most cases I have read have been more psychological problems." She held up a hand "I do not think that is your problem so I think I will try this method, I am going to see if I can draw it out myself."

Ichigo furrowed his brow. "Is that safe?"

"Nothing in what I found indicated otherwise"

Asia made a sound and both glanced at her, there was a green ball of light hovering between her hands. "Ara Ara," Akeno moved over. "Maybe you do have a talent for magic Asia."

Issei looked like he was trying real hard, but nothing was happening. "Well," he said, "If Asia is getting stronger than it's all good."

"Hmmm perhaps a demonstration will help." The Queen pulled out a water bottle and and set it on the table placing her hand over the top it and after a small flare of her power the water exploded out of the bottle in jaggad blades of ice.

"Amazing!" Issei whispered and Asia looked impressed as well, odd considering they both saw her summon lightning powerful enough to glass the earth, but then again it had been over in a flash.

"Once you get used to it, as I told you, you can manipulate anything. Fire, water, dirt, whatever." She paused for a moment. "Granted each person seemed to have an element or two they are better with, but for a devil that is a loose rule unlike with a human." She gave Asia a smile. "Asia-chan please practice this next." The former nun gave an excited agreement.

"Issei continue to try and concentrate your magic externally." The boy gave a rather half hearted affermitve. "Issei the trick to magic is imagery, to let you make what you imagine a reality."

"Oh no." Ichigo murmured, having sudden visions of boobs appearing on every surface imaginable.

"What I can imagine, huh." Given the boy's gaze, it was clear exactly what he was imagining and it seemed Akeneo was more than willing to have fun with him as she cajoled him to focus, all the while bent over a table with her chest hanging and swaying with every motion. Ichigo sighed and closed his eyes, as he heard Issei almost scream in a panicked voice. "I will do my best!"

Akeno laughed and he felt her pull back and move to his side as Issei went back to his attempts at magic. "Now for you, big boy." She gave a little giggle that he pretended not to see and noted Asia pouting at him before she noticed his look at her and gave a nervous smile before picking up her own bottle of water.

"Let's see about getting your power going." She motioned for him to sit in a chair, he frowned at that but did so. "This might take a moment, it might take a couple of minutes." She said in a soothing voice.

"Sounds go.." The word lost coherency as Akeno straddled him in the chair, pressing her chest against him hard.

He heard Issei spluttering and Asia gasp and he made to throw her off by sheer reflex. "Heart to heart," she said and touched her forehead to his, "Head to head, the most important centers of power." He made a strangled sound, because she was soft, soft in all the right places. Despite her height and build she felt light and his body reacted the way any man might have to the sudden touching of so many intriguing body parts. "Bear with it Ichigo-san," She said, her violet eyes locked on his, "This is how it is done..." She paused. "Well, that is not quite true. The book suggested nudity," Issei sounded like he was dying, "But I decided not to push it, now here we go." He was not able to say anything as she closed her eyes for what seemed only like an instant.

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Akeno let her power flow into this man flow from her heart to his and her head to his, letting small strings of her will pierce flesh and dive in, seeking the spiritual and finding it with ease. In her mind's eye she stood in a void a string of gold in her hand and she cast it into the depths, her power searching for something akin to itself. It took a moment before she felt in her very being something latch on to it. So far so good, just as the book had said. Now all she needed to do was pull up so to speak and she did.

What she did not expect was for something to pull back, to pull back hard and with more force than she had ever felt in her life, in one heartbeat she was pulled, pulled from her spot in the void, from her mind's eye she thought she saw something flash before she was….in water?

Her mouth opened and that proved to be a mistake, it flooded into her cutting off air, cutting of sense, a terrible pressure closed around her like a vice seeming to squeeze every part of her body….and…..it….all….felt….real. Had she real bones they would have turned to paste, even now this mental construct of herself felt the sensation of slowly dying as a force greater than she had ever imagined crushed her like an ant. She tried to scream, but the water in her lungs made that impossible, to call this anything short of the worst pain she had ever felt would be a lie.

It seemed all at once the calm and collected woman vanished under the awful pain of what was happening. She felt something about to break, felt her hand brush against something hard, almost crystal. Then something, no someone, slipped under her arms, what felt like two strong limbs pulled her back and against a chest that felt hard as rock, but still softer than this place.

Her mental self rocked as she felt herself go from zero to one thousand MPH in the space it took for a thought to form. It felt like she was going up, up, up, the pressure relaxed, the water in her lungs still choked her, still drove the reason out of her mind, up, up then light. She felt the arms move going to her belly and then a hard sudden sharp pain. The force of the blow would have knocked the breath from her, but as it was it sent the water in her system spewing out of her mouth. Blessed air returned and she would have fallen, but the arms held her up, held her close as she coughed and sucked in what tasted like the cleanest air she had ever breathed.

A voice spoke in her ear. "Mhhh, girls like you should not go wandering into dark places. You never know which big bad wolf will eat you up." The Queen reacted at once to the implied threat trying to struggle, but the arms were so strong. "What's wrong?" The voice said in her ear, hot breath sending shivers down her spine. "I thought you liked teasing, that's all this is, and I did save your soul that should be worth your body right?"

Her breaths were still coming in rough, she was still trying to recover her voice. "And what a lovely body you have Akeno." Her name on the being's lips felt so naughty. "You know he has noticed and when he does, so do I." They were moving up again as vision seemed to return she found herself watching a reflection, herself in a mirror, no, not a mirror, a window. She was soaking wet and it clung to her in ways that she knew were pleasing and most of the time that would be something to enjoy. But her ragged breathing and gasping ruined the image, what was holding her was just as odd as the buildings around her. She found herself looking into what seemed to be Ichigo Kurosaki's albino twin. No, not that either. More like a clone or a bad photocopy of a clone. He was just as tall as the man she knew, same build, but his skin was white as paper, his hair whiter than Koneko's, his clothing a Shihakusho of purest white with a belt of black. His eyes were what set him apart from the Kurosaki she knew, and they were eyes she had seen before. Solid black sclera and glowing yellow eyes. Somehow they seemed shaper than Kurosaki's, harder, and his smirk and the clear way his arousal pressed between her butt cheeks was a difference as well.

Then they reached the top of the building and the creature landed and after only a single moment, in which he pressed himself against her, then he lay her down, the action almost shockingly gentle. Then he moved back and waited, seeming content to let her recover. Akeno took the time she was gathering her wits to look around. She was on the tallest building in what looked like a forest of them. Below her, stretching as far as the eye could see, was an endless sea. Bright blue at the top but growing darker as it went deeper. Two structures, that took her a moment to recognize as Rook pieces, towered above even this building. Like alien monoliths whose base alone seemed only just covered by the endless ocean. At the top of one a black fire outlined in red burned like a sun casting its light over the world, on the other rook a cascade of pure water fell for miles from its top, somehow holding cohesion all the way down, though at its base a mist had formed.

Well, she was not in Kansas anymore, that was for sure. With an effort she schooled her face and called back her dignity as a Queen of the house of Gremory and stood up. "I suppose I should thank you for the rescue?" she asked.

The creature smiled at her his eyes seeming to burn though her clothing. It was not unpleasant really, she often did the same to people she liked. "You should, I didn't have to."

"Don't lie." A man's voice said and Akeno looked around, but found nothing.

The creature let out a sigh. "Stupid old man, I'm trying to get laid." He shook his head. "Alright, I did have to save you, that, from some god awful reason, is a base requirement for being part of him." He crossed his arms. "You can call me White, it's what he calls me even if he knows the truth on some level."

"Then I thank you for my rescue White." She was nothing if not grateful to those who saved her life or soul or mind. "Pardon my rudeness," She gave her best heart stopping smile, "But you saved my soul?"

"Where the hell do you think you are, you're in King's soul. Do you think any other kind of being could come here?"

"King?" she asked

"Ichigo, the 'I will save everyone but never get laid' but for whom I have to do the heavy lifting, Kurosaki."

"Hmm," she quashed a surge of panic, "I am...inside of Ichigo?"

"Yes, though if this world had any justice he should have been the one inside of you, but whatever. You're here now and perhaps I can balance some karma a little."

She felt no worry on that account. "If you are part of Kurosaki you won't." She said with absolute assurance.

"Well, I won't force you, though I could keep you here for a while. The old man has drawn forth his shadow so we have a lot of time here before anyone out there notices anything wrong."

"Where am I?" She said turning the conversation away from what seemed like dangerous if….interesting ground. He was a good looking bad boy after all.

"You, my princess, are in Ichigo Kurosaki's inner world, the seat and source of his power, the only thing he had ever sought to rule. And I am one of the parts of him that lives here."

"Hmm, interesting. I have never heard of such a place, who else lives here?"

"The old man and whatever the hell is growing in that chuck of power you tried to draw out." He laughed. "Pretty funny to see you fall face first into that place. You looked so panicked that one might never know you have such a haughty face."

"I will take that as a compliment." She huffed starting to enjoy herself. "You seem quite the opposite of our dear Ichigo, he is all manners and propriety. You seem to be...what is that American term?...ah yes, Piss and Vinegar?"

"Don't forget testosterone, and I am not quite that acidic." There was a blur of motion and he was in her face, seeming to tower over her. "Now, little lady, my reward." Before she could stop him he leaned down and kissed her hard. Akeneo prided herself on knowing a lot of things, on having certain experiences, but this Kiss was beyond any of them, there was no romance just force, a tongue that found hers, a strength that seemed to simply overpower her own. This White seemed to dominate her, dominate her mouth, her lips, her eyes, her will. She did not try to stop him, not really. She did not want to, as it had turned out to be a rather pleasant experience compared to what had come before.

The Kiss was not skilled, not clever. It was a conquering kiss, a taken kiss. When he pulled back the moan that escaped her sent shivers of delicious thill through her. White let go and she found herself on the ground, her face red, her breaths ragged once again and the pale bastard did not even seem winded. He just smiled at her with that razor edged smile, that cocky look that told her he thought he owned.

It forced her to her feet as she dusted herself off and spoke her voice only a little weak. "Good, but I have had better."

"I'll bet, you and the adorable nun, naked in a bath, playing and teasing each other." She blinked. "Hey, when he fantasizes we all get to see it and let me tell you, despite what he shows, my King as an active imagination." White laughed again. "All right, that was more than enough for saving your soul, time for you to leave now, as you are not supposed to be here." Akeno opened her mouth, but found him on her again and his kiss seemed to steal the words and breath from her very being.

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Ichigo almost fell off the chair as Akeno gasp and pulled back what seemed to be a heartbeat after she had closed her eyes. It might have been his imagination, but the Queen's skin felt hotter and...was that sweat on her brow. Her breathing had become ragged and it was drawing her chest up and down his in a way that he was doing his best to ignore. Her eyes opened unfocused her mouth falling open and a noise he refused to quantify for his own sanity came out.

"Are you ok?" He asked, the concern a great refuge from the growing tightness in his pants. He hoped that she was just shifting and not grinding because that was what it felt like. "Asia." he said.

The former nun was at his side in an instant, she too, it seemed, was concerned as her sacred gear flared to life. That power seemed to calm Akeno as the women let out a long sigh and leaned her head down on his shoulder, the motion somehow one of rest. "If you would be so kind Ichigo-Kun." She managed to say. "Could you lie me down on the couch, the action I just took was….not as safe as I was lead to believe."

A few minutes later with a bottle of water downed, a blanket and Ichigo taking the time to adjust his pants, she seemed much better. "What happened?" he asked.

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I do not fully know." She was looking at him very oddly and he shifted in discomfort. "The power is there," She said carefully, "But you were right when you said it was being suppressed." She didn't shudder, but it looked like she wanted to. "It was a very close encounter and one I do not think we should repeat."

"What happened?"

"I tried to pull it out and something pulled back." She gave a shrug as if that was all. "I reacted badly, I'm sorry if you got uncomfortable." Her eyes flicked to his pants in evident amusement. Ichigo coughed and stepped away from her.

"I'm glad you're ok." He said.

Asia leaned over to hug her tightly. "I'm glad too. Don't do that again, I was worried." The Queen drew up a hand that only shook a little and mussed the Bishop's hair.

"I'm fine." She gave them an apologetic look. "I think my magic class is over for a bit." She shifted to get more comfortable and he thought he noticed a flicker of power, when he focused on it, it had the sense he got when communication was in. "Bouchou wants Asia to stay with me and Issei you are to go work with Koneko. Kurosaki, you need to go find her, I think she has something special in mind for you."

Both Ichigo and Issei gave her a worried look, but Asia put on her best and cutest game face. "She will be fine, I promise." He and Issei shared a glance and nodded at the former nun.

"Let's get going." he told the boy, Issei gave him a worried look at the prospect of having to get a lesson from Koneko….Ichigo considered it karma.

"Look, I really am sorry." Issei said half in panic. "Can you….tell your girlfriend to go easy on me?"

"It won't help." He gave the appearance of thinking real hard. "In fact, it might make it worse." He smiled at the paleing boy. "So sure, I will."

"No, no, no," Issei said hands up, "You know what? I think I got it, I really do."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh yes," he squeaked, "I'm good, I'm good."

"Well, if you say so."

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He found Rias standing on the edge of a crystal clear lake, she had a vacant expression, fully at odds with what he had seen this morning. "Buchou."

"Ichigo." she replied.

"So, what is this special thing you have in mind for me?"

Rias drummed her fingers against her arm. "You know, I thought that I would not have a chance to avoid this, that it was only a matter of time before my fate was sealed." Ichigo tilted his head in a questioning manner. "No one told me that there would be a chance, and there never really seemed like a point." Her mouth quirked in a smile. "Hell, the only plan I could think of was trying to lose my virginity in hopes that he would not want me….Sona pointed out the flaw in that." She shrugged, turning to him and making him wonder where this was going. "I watched Koneko and Kiba spar today, they have gotten stronger than I remember." And well they should, he had been working with them long enough.

Rias hesitated, looking away from him. "I am...I mean...Will...will you help me get back into shape?" The words were rushed, embarrassed. "My magic is fine," she said, "I mean I'm still practiced in that but..." Her mouth snapped shut.

"You need a refresher in hand to hand?" he asked.

"Y-yes."

Ichigo gave it some thought. "Now, I know you have been taught, but has it been long enough that I should treat you like you know nothing about hand to hand?"

"Yes." She nodded seeming grateful that he had given her pride a way out. "Riser Phenex is what he said. He is the pride of his family and his skill at hand to hand is...impressive." Her fingers dug into her arms where she had them crossed.

"You know, ten days in not enough to become anywhere near proficient."

She glanced away. "I know, but it is enough time for the basics?"

"It is." Ichigo agreed. "I could….remind you of a few things that could be helpful."

There was a moment of silence. "I'm really bad at this aren't I?"

"A little." He replied.

She gave him a self deprecating smile. "Grayfia-san offered to show me how to fight," she looked away, "My brother offered to help me learn more about the Power of Destruction." There was a long sigh. "I was being pissy at the time, furious that my brother would let this happen to me…" Her fist clenched. "I thought he did not love me enough, did not even think about what this would do to him as a Maou. That he could not be seen and moreover he promised dad he would not interfere with family business. I had years to get ready for this day...I just never knew it was coming."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"When you spoke to Issei, you knew I was there. I figured it was only fair that I share a story of my own, that's how you two boys do it, right?"

Ichigo shrugged. "We have not done the question game in awhile, but yes, that is how it works."

Rias nodded "Well, can we get started?"

"Ok," he glanced at the sun, "Every evening then?"

"That would be great, thank you."

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Rias let out a moan, her body trembling like a newborn babe. Hands pressed into her seeming to pierce her to her very core, it was too much, too much.

"Maou, what in the hell did he do to you Buchou?"

Rias blinked her way back to reality. She sat in warm water, an amazing contrast to the cold air pressing into them in the open bath. Her Queen was working on her aching, back her fingers seeming to pull out stress from her sore body. "I don't think it was him," she groaned, "I've been stressed for a while, pushing myself today just brought it all outttttt." That last word was almost a scream as something in her back popped and, after a second of pure agony, most of her tension seemed to drain out of her body.

It was followed by a warmth as her worried looking Bishop pressed her glowing hand on her. "You should not push yourself too hard if you are going to get hurt." The girl admonished as her Sacred Gear drowned the pain with healing power.

"Hmmm." Koneko was sitting on a bench, her pale back to them, using the shower piece to wash her white hair. She got the feeling her Rook was annoyed with her, but it did not take a psychic to figure out why. Her naughty little neko probably wanted some alone time with her man. Thump...her heart beat weirdly at that thought, but it did not matter right now, they were training to keep not only her freedom, but all of theirs. _A hopeless endeavor_ … came the traitor's thought. Rias dunked her head under the water and shook it trying to clear away that fear that clung to her heart.

"Koneko." said said, turning her mind to something else, anything else.

"Buchou?" she replied turning her head.

"This bath has three sides you know. You could always convince him to join you in one if you want." Translation 'I'm sorry for dominatinting his time.'

Her cute face frowned for a moment before nodding. "I will ask." Translation 'If this works, you're forgiven.'

"Try asking him to do it in swimsuits." Asia said to the shock of them all, her face was bright. "He works very hard not to catch us naked or any other sort of things. He might go for it if it's appropriate."

"Yess," Akeno purred, "You're learning, good girl." Asia blushed at the complement and Rias stifled a giggle. "And when you got him there you can work on getting both of you naked." Asia blushed even deeper and Koneko turned her head away. The Queen's eyes were locked on the bishop "What are thinking of Asia-Chan?"

"Not his bare chest!" She screamed.

Even Koneko laughed and Rias felt the last of her tension drain away for now. These good times would not last much longer….but she would enjoy them while they lasted.

'Oh, that reminds me Buchou,' Akeno spoke to her through a communication spell, 'Something happened today with Ichigo's training and I thought you should know.'

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Issei stared at the scene before him in a sort of horrified fascination, Ichigo was sitting on one of the shower chairs and he looked absolutely unfair with how toned his naked body was. Kiba was behind him and just as naked working away on his back, the minutes before had seen Ichigo kneeling behind the blonde bastard and washing his back with a great deal of care. Both had offered to help him if he needed it and Issei had declined. Being part of something out of a shounen ai was not on his bucket list, in fact that only thing that kept it from being so was the the green haired toddler on top on Ichigo's head like some sort of hat. Still, if he had his phone with him and took a picture Aika Kiryuu would have sold an arm an a leg for them. What made it worse in his thought was that neither boy seemed to think it odd or weird, perhaps it was just him, he was a pervert after all whereas both of his companions seemed to be some sort of supermen.

"Thank you Kiba."

"My pleasure Kurosaki."

Now that they both were fully bathed then and only then did they get up and walk over to the bigger pool. Issei looked at Kiba and felt contentment as his brain did what many men would do, compare and contrast, at least in that respect he was equal to the blonde. Looking at Kurosaki...well it was best not to look, such an act brought on feelings of inadequacy like the plague.

"How did Buchou's training go?" Kiba asked as they relaxed.

"Better than I expected, she has a talent for it I think, but don't tell her that. I want her trying her hardest, I only have nine more days and I want to get the most out of it."

Kiba sighed and leaned back. "It's going to be a long shot you know, Riser Phenex has a good record. Nine wins, four loses, two of those only out of respect for houses they were close to."

"Rias said he was good at hand to hand."

Kiba nodded. "Not just that, his Devil bloodline, the Phenex, grants him powerful regeneration, so long as he has Demonic power to burn, he can heal any injury."

"Even vital spots?"

Kiba nodded. "I assume it drains his power to regenerate, but that is the only weakness in it I know of."

"So regeneration at the cost of stamina, but it heals anything."

"Any physical injury, I don't know about other types." Issei could not believe how calm Ichigo seemed at hearing their opponent was like Wolverine. "Also, he has pyrokinesis and uses it in a lot of ways. He increases the power of his physical attacks, uses blasts, and can even make a weapon or two out of it." Again Kurosaki did not seem phased by this at all. Of course, why would he be? Issei closed his eyes and reached into his Sacred Gear. He did not know what he was drawing out, but whatever it was, his senses shifted and he could feel the man's power. His skin seemed to crawl at just the passive weight that was on him, if he focused he could sense just a glimpse of raw power unlike anything he had yet to feel. His concentration slipped and the sense vanished, perhaps his teacher was not worried because he was simply stronger.

As if to confirm this the toddler spoke out. "Itsygo will kick his butt."

He knew that his Sacred Gear was the only reason he was able to tell this, everyone else seemed deaf to it. A popular discussion among the others when Ichigo was not around was how strong he was. He regularly beat them all at once, but no one used the full extent of their power. And he had shown no magic, no nothing. It all amounted to the fact that no one was sure just what he brought to the battlefield, just how strong he was. Rias and Akeno-senpai seemed to think him strong, but perhaps not on their own level in terms of raw destructive capability. Issei had no such illusions, whatever was going to happen in this rating game he had no fear of losing. Even if he was knocked out, Kurosaki would carry them. Which was why he was going to do his damndest to reduce that load, even a little. Perhaps start earning the trust he had lost, but that was going to take time to heal and he was determined to try.

"Itsygo?" Nel murmured from her spot on his head, interrupting his thoughts. She flipped off him and into the water and turned a fierce look at him. "Play with me."

Issei watched as Kurosaki smiled. "What do you want to do?"

The toddler turned to look at him. "Splash fight!" She screamed and ducked her head under the water. Issei blinked in confusion as the water vibrated and...lowered a bit. Nel shot back up, her cheeks puffed and spat a geyser of water into him driving him against the bath edge and knocking the wind out of him.

Blinking in stunned stupor he watched as Kiba and Ichigo looked at each other, shrugged and went about following Nel's orders. Issei, for his part, took the opportunity to attempt to get his breath back. What a day.

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Riser felt rather pleased with himself as the squirming body beneath him let out a cry of pure bliss. IIe collapsed onto her twin, both of whom looked half unconscious with pleasure. It gave him a surge of ego that he sorely needed right now.

" _You are a monster."_ The statement had not been made in fear, the matter of fact way that thing had just said it. He leaned over and kissed lle and Nel moving over and covering them with the red blanket that covered his bed and moving so that he was sitting at the food of it. " _You are a monster."_ He should take that as a tribute to his acting skills. Burning new devils to ash? The Devil population was in a fucking crisis, who the fuck would be stupid enough to kill off new blood?

"Victory is won first in the mind." He repeated to himself words of wisdom his father had given him. "Defeat your opponents mind and their body will follow."..." _You are a monster."_ No, he was a pragmatist. He had to win, for the honor of his family, for his own honor. His bloodline and that of the house of Gremory had to continue and if Rias wanted to use artificial insemination or other means he was fine with that. While Rias would have been a prize in the bed he had no illusions of it reaching that far anytime soon. For one thing whatever he might threaten he was not a fucking rapist, and for the second he was decently sure Siezech would kill him outright if he hurt that girl, treaty be damned, and not even his whole family and all their allies would be able to stand against that, stand against the strongest demon in the underworld. " _You are a monster."_

It was so easy to let the words flow, to let them see his deserved arrogance. He was strong, he had worked damn hard to become so. He was the best of his generation and they all knew it, all that made it easy to defeat them in their minds. " _You are a monster."_ He gritted his teeth, why did the words affect him so? It had not been the first time he had been called such….no, he knew why. The way it had been said…..the tone, the manner, the eyes, the boy had spoken the words and Riser had believed them, if only for a moment. Then, faced with that anger so righteous and self assured it made him want puke, faced with that mask that had set his heart to beating...for an instant he had been afraid, afraid of a Devil with so little power he barely registered….but what had been that power he had emitted? He had not felt it, had not sensed it, had no way of processing what in the fuck that meant. " _You are a monster."_

Then it clicked. "Victory is won in the mind." he said and it brought a smile across his face as the doubts fled. "Oh, that cheeky brat." He laughed, causing the twins behind him to stir. He closed his mouth and turned to look at their naked bodies, covered in sweat and intertwined with each other. The sight sent a surge of need into his loins and he considered waking them up for another around. "Almost beaten by my own tactics." He muttered. "Being on the receiving end is much less fun."

There was a knock at his door and after a moment Mihae walked in. His Bishop looked as refined as always, part of what made it so fun to push her down and remove that dignity one garment at a time, or better yet have her do it. "What did you find?"

She bowed to him, her expression not one of pleasure. "Not much, my lord. The boy Ichigo Kurosaki is sixteen, he is five foot eleven and weighs around one hundred and forty five pounds. His mother died in suspicious circumstances when he was nine, and his single father has raised him and his sisters ever since. Most of his schooling was done in his home town of Karakura Town with the local schooling system, where he ranked an average of third place in GPA and showed a talent for fighting especially against large groups. He vanished for a time during the summer of last year and…" she shrugged. "He moved to Khou on a scholarship and at some point was turned into a Devil by Rias Gremory." Mihae let out a breath. "I could not find anything else, nor what happened during the time of his disappearance."

"Hmm," Riser nodded, "I guess it would be too easy for just the mundane methods to work on him."

"I attempted to use several of my spiritual contacts," she looked up at him, "Nothing and the kind of nothing that makes me think someone is shielding him from such methods."

"Oh well, it does not matter." Riser smiled leaning back. "I got out my funk, sorry for sending you on a wild goose chase darling."

"It was no trouble Lord Riser." she bowed to him. "That is my report I will cease bothering you now."

"That would be hard if you leave," he leered at her, "Because right now the idea of you clothed is bothering me." Her eyes widened and she licked her lips.

"Of course, Lord Riser."

"Mihae, you have long since earned the right when we are going to be intimate."

"Of course, Riser." For her, saying that seemed more naughty than what he was going to have her do and what he was going to do to her.

"Now," he leaned back on his arms letting her see just what he thought of her body "What are you waiting for?"

Mihae blushed bright red, but began to strip, one piece at a time. The dignity and refinement of her person slowly falling away to reveal the the Mihae that only he and her peerage sisters knew. 'It was glorious to be Riser Phenex' he thought. 'I'll bet that brat is going to sleep sore tonight. While he was going to be in bed warm and satisfied', oh yes that was going to be a good night.

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Grayfia bowed to her lord and husband, having just finished most of her report. "I see, so it went as I thought." Sirzech said. He looked dashing in his white suit, sitting on his throne, oh the sight of it sent tingles down her spine. Granted he would have preferred this meeting to be at their home in more comfortable clothing, but she had insisted, he was a Maou, her Maou and had to set a good example. He shook his head with that little smile she loved so much. "That is just like her."

"On the surface she does not seem to stand a chance."

That got his attention. "On the surface?"

"Yes," Grayfia nodded, "They have all gotten stronger."

"That is good." Sirzech whispered.

"But," she continued, "It was not in a way that I recognized, all of her peerage their Devil power seemed to be greater…" She frowned. "That is not the right word, not greater power, but more potent power."

"How so?"

"As I said, something is infusing them and I do not think any of them have noticed." Her husband took a few breaths and nodded for her to continue. "All of them are showing this trait, save one. Rias-Sama's newest Rook, one Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Newest rook...hmm Ria did not mention that."

"At first glance he did not seem all that impressive, however," Grayfia raised her palm willing power into it and showing her husband the replay of what had happened through her eyes.

"He is quite fast."

"I was not paying attention," she replied, "I need to be disciplined for that."

Her husband let out a sigh. "Gray-Chan, not every mistake needs..." She glared at him and his mouth snapped shut.

"Do not call me that while I am in uniform." She chided her master, they watched until she ended the memory.

"Well, well. Ria you seem to have found quite the protector….you think he can back it up?"

"I could not…." She looked annoyed. "Understand or sense the energy he emitted. I felt its effects on the atmosphere, but little more. However," She held up a hand and drew on her power, it was grey like her name, an orb of dull color and inside it, a small spark of blue flickered, though it looked to be fading. "It is, I suspect, the same thing that is infusing Rias- Sama's peerage, boosting their power. I was only there for minutes and a little of it got in me, and then there is the fact of his mask."

Sirzech nodded. "You recognize it?"

"Not it specifically."

"True," the Maou admitted, "But every example we have recorded has been different."

"The Hungry ones of the desert world."

"The Isolationists call them the Hollows, but those creatures cannot be transformed and they die in our presence."

"Not die," Grayfia warned, "Our natural power is anathema to them, just as they are to us, just as they are to many creatures."

"Save for the Isolationists and the the Greater Angels, I know. I can't remember the last time any of our kind had an encounter with them."

"I don't know what this boy is."

"He seemed like a Devil to me."

"Yes Lord husband," she agreed, "but What was he before?"

"Well, we know he could not have been one of them, nor one of the Isolationists. Neither can be transmuted by the evil pieces. Perhaps a human affected by one of them? Humans are endlessly adaptable."

"It is a thought, but I felt that you should keep an eye on your sister's peerage for now, and that we need to keep a close eye on him during the rating game."

"I agree." He stood and she knelt as he walked over to her. "Thank you, Darling. You have given me some hope in this." His hand came down on her shoulder and power built under them.

"Even with the boost, it still seems unlikely." She said.

"That, dear, is much better than impossible." There was a flash of light and both were gone.

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The Peon of the Twelfth Division approached his Captain as quietly as possible. Captain Kurotsuchi had been known to send people who made too much noise in his office to the bomb treatment and no one wanted that.

In absolute silence he set down a brown folder on the desk, not daring to look up at his Captain who seemed quite busy in his own research reports. The file itself was marked "Mildly Important". Often the safest designation if you did not know if the Captain would or would not want to see it. The report detailed the slight flare of spiritual presence in a designated red zone, a no patrol, no enter area designated by the Gotei 13. The flare had not been strong enough, but it had been the second one in a short time. Only after a solid third flare would the Peon set the folder on a slightly higher priory.

With his job done he left the office and only when he was out of the building did he allow himself the right to breath. His shift was over, he was alive, and he needed a drink.

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 **Well it seems a lot is going on for our Intrepid Devil, people starting to notice, wheels being set in motion.**

 **Side effects of being near a boy who's soul is like an endless geyser spraying bits of his most intimate self on those around him…**

 **Lots of fun things to write about.**

 **Anyway I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Fnaboy913**


	21. Chapter 20

**Well here we go I hope you all enjoy, and once again thank you to Aroneden for helping me by proofreading.**

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Ichigo sat back on the lake shore, evening had just risen and he awaited his King's arrival. Nine days seemed to pass like water under a bridge. His head turned to glance at the top of a hill that was currently missing its peak. Issei had done well because Rias had the knowledge to do what Ichigo couldn't and that had been truly help him with the understanding of his sacred gear. Given that Zangetsu was only one in the most technical sense and neither he nor his Zanpakuto was sure what that addition was actually doing, what he knew was of no real help to Issei.

But, from what he understood, Issei's sacred gear allowed him to amplify power and do so many times, allowing him to take his modest power and boost it enough to take out a mountain top. Handy ability that, of course that admiration was tempered by the boy's first self-made spell...dress break. As soon as Ichigo had heard the name his first thought had been, 'Ya that sounds like a spell he would make.' followed by a slight disappointment, then the thought that...it might be useful….sometimes.

So with Rias in agreement Issei was working on making the dress break apply to both genders and armor. Because, as much as he might not like to admit it, a combat nudeifer was a very effective attack. Many people would not be able to handle that in this modern world. If he could make it work on all clothing and protection, however, it would truly be a useful talent. Or at least that was how Ichigo was justifying it for his own sanity.

It helped that the second day a new helper arrived. One Ruben Sacro, head psychologist of the Gremory family on standby for any of the houses mental needs….all in all a good use of unlimited money in his opinion. Issei had found his evenings filled with sit downs with the man and that was about as far as Ichigo's knowledge went. Issei did not talk about what went on and Ichigo did not ask.

Other fun events happened beyond training, bath time had become much more interesting.

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" _You want to bathe together?" Ichigo asked, his heart did a few flips as part of his mind panicked. Were they ready to go that far? He did not know and…_

" _Swimsuits," she said, rolling her eyes at the panic in his eyes, "We bath like normal on our sides, you give Nel to Mori-san and we," she blushed, "Hang out, relax.._ _fool around..._ _" He had to focus to hear that last part and felt heat on his face._

" _T-t-that, sounds like fun."_

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 _Nel yawned as he handed her to Mori, the woman gave the toddler a smile as she checked the girl up and down. "She is quite clean, well done young master."_

 _He had given up trying to get her to call him by his name; it just was not worth it. "I've had a bit of experience with cleaning little ones."_

" _I can tell." Mori gave him a nod and paused to give him a speculative look and it was kind of his fault given that he was wearing just swim trunks. "Well, you better get going young master."_

" _Right." He turned away before she could see his cheeks flush, but given the light laughter that followed him she knew._

 _The bath in the middle was more of an open air affair, the other two were open but they had roofs overhead. Ichigo had arrived first and made himself comfortable and found the open view to the stars quite relaxing. This far into nature there was no light pollution….at least besides this mansion. But it was not enough to dull the starlight leaving the heavens to shine like diamonds._

 _He heard the pitter patter of light feet before he saw her, it seemed she was coming right over from the bath on the girl's side. He gulped a little as she appeared. He wore simple orange swim trunks and it seemed she had taken the simple route too, having gone with the Kuoh Academy Swimsuit, the simple blue one piece that actually looked like it was made to fit her. It was not too big, it was not too small, though it clung to her wet body, but all swimsuits did that. But to him it looked perfectly functional and sexy. She paused at the water's edge to look him over and apparently approving of what she saw. "Hey."_

" _Hey yourself." She stepped into the water and made a noise at its heat. Crossing to where he was in a dozen strides and took a seat...in his lap...of course. He chided himself a little on not being prepared for that and naturally his body partially reacted. Koneko leaned her head back against his chest, her height meaning that even her hair did not so much as reach his chin as long as he was sitting up._

 _He crossed his arms over her body and gently rested his chin in her soft hair "How is your training going?"_

" _Would be better if you were part of it." She mumbled, her small hands taking their time exploring the muscles of his arms._

" _Sorry about that, but even I have to have others train me sometimes."_

" _Mhhh, but then Buchou takes up your evenings." He opened his mouth, but she shushed him with a gentle shake of her head. "I'm just letting off some steam," His mouth closed, "I wanted to spend time with you, before…." She muttered._

 _She trembled for a moment, a full body shudder...she was scared. It only showed for a moment, but she was scared of what was coming….and why should she not be, he had not truly shown any of them his powers. He had been deliberate in that, because he knew, just knew, that it was not his time yet. That something bad would happen if it was not at the right time, in the right place. Again there was that sense that perhaps this was not his knowledge, but something else._

 _Koneko growled lightly and he could feel the vibration in his body. She turned in his arms, the sensation of her skin and that of her swimsuit on his bare chest sending all kinds of signals throughout his body. Her arms slipped up between his, coming around his neck and pulling her up so that they were face to face. Her gold eyes stared into his brown for a long moment as their breathing synchronized._

 _He leaned forward into her and their lips met and it, at least was not as frightful to look upon as their first kiss, perhaps it had something to do with how they were going slow now. There was no force on either side this time, just the taste of her strawberry lips on his. It seemed to unite with the close press of her body, molding her against his chest. His left arm pressed her closer if that was even possible and after a moment's hesitation his right hand began to dip lower moving to the curve of her back. They pulled away her eyes empty of the worry that had been there, now replaced by something much more pleasant._

 _She leaned back, pushing back against his tight hold until her hands were free and had enough room to explore. Her tiny fingers moved over his muscled chest, gently tracing the outlines with a sort of fascinated expression. For his part he held very still, drinking in the feelings that were twisting around in his chest. The contrast of his hard body and hers, so soft in comparison, felt amazing to him. Her eyes glowed with golden heat and they leaned forward to kiss again. This one much more reminiscent of their first if only a little more palatable to watch._

He had kept it from going any further than that and, to be fair, Koneko herself had seemed more than happy with where they had stopped. Sadly, there had been no repeat of that first time. Asia had showed up the third night, at which point Koneko had gotten up and dragged the bishop away for a talk. Ichigo had waited patiently until the girls returned. Koneko had seemed amused, a little exasperated, but mostly fine. Asia had been beet red and remained so, though that might have been from Koneko sitting her down beside him when they got back. That night had seemed to start a change in their relationship, which had been distant-ish until now. He had noted the two talking together in their limited spare time and his Rook had begun to do….what Akeno and that human girl back at the school did. This was grab assing. Something he would have put a stop to, but when he mentioned it to the former nun she had told him she enjoyed it...girls never ceased to confound and confuse. On the bright side, Akeno seemed to be so proud of her protégé for making a new friend and something about speaking her feelings clearly.

The former nun had seemed to gain a measure of confidence as well, or at least he assumed, from her spending more time very close to either him or Issei. That was good for her and he did his best to help her with her training, which she seemed to appreciate a great deal. He had noted that there had been an uptick in how close she was to him when it was appropriate. He had not noticed at first, but she was a well, if more naturally, developed girl in her own right and both him and his body were starting to notice….which was worrying. At some point after this mess was over he needed to have a talk with Akeno to see what was going on.

Speaking of the Queen, Akeno had joined them, along with Asia, on the fourth day and by the fifth all the peerage showed up. All of them hanging out and talking in their swimsuits, Issei got eye candy, Koneko still got to spend time with him and Akeno got to confuse him more, so everyone had a good time.

Ichigo shook his head. Akeno too had been acting odd these past nine days, but given that she had what might have been a rather traumatic experience trying to drag out his Devil Power, not that she had told him anything about what had happened. But...the girl herself seemed confused when in his presence, or at least had been the first couple of days then she had just returned to normal...except for the teasing that had doubled, at least, and had gotten to the point where Koneko was nearly growling on sight if they were in the room together, all of which the Queen found hilarious. He wished she would stop as the girl was very distracting, not the least of which because of her habit of not wearing bras. At the very least he was glad breasts were not his major thing, Issei would have been a mess if she had directed her teasing at him. But still, in the moments that she thought he was not looking...the intent and searching of her gaze on him was almost unnerving and a little….he did not have a name for the feeling.

With a gentle motion he smacked the side of his head pushing himself out of that loop of thoughts, turning them instead to his odd King. Rias Gremory, as the days had progressed, had done well with her hand to hand training, this after a long day of working on her own power when she has time to spare. He had done as he said and gone though as many of the defensive techniques that he felt would help her, which meant a lot of Aikido, his weaker martial art, but as he had told Kiba she had a talent for it, a real talent...not that he had told her that. It would have to come after this mess was over, but she was doing good. Better and quicker than he had done when he started and he did not chalk all of it up to her being a Devil.

But the other conclusion he had come to was that she had no idea how powerful she was, three times she had told him she had wiped herself dry of power, but that vast reservoir he sensed in her remained untouched. Rather like him when he first started except that she did not even seem to draw on this power in a passive sense. So perhaps there was no connection, the power was there but she had no way to draw on it.

"There you are." Her voice said. He turned his head and noted the exhaustion in her face, a clear sign of efforts today. He made a motion for her to sit and she did so without complaint. "Tomorrow is a big day," she said in a flat tone, "The fight of my life."

"We are almost ready." He replied confidently, he had made a point to do that. She had grown to trust him or at least trust that his mouth would stay shut if she spoke her fears aloud.

"Almost, huh?" She closed her eyes, resting her head and crimson hair on the ground. "I don't feel ready."

"You are worried. It's ok to be so."

"And you are not?" She challenged.

The truth was, no, he was not in the slightest, but that was not what she wanted to hear. "It doesn't really matter if I am. It doesn't matter if I'm afraid, or scared, or worried. I have people to protect, you all are part my family now and I will do what I have always done." He found her hand and squeezed, not in a gesture of romance, but of the simple reassurance of contact. "I protect them as best I can." He let go and relaxed a little bit more.

"You say it so easily, like it is the law of reality." She closed her eyes. "I wish so much that I could quantify you that I could sense the power you have. I know you are more than the small spark of Devil Power I feel, but how can you be more than someone like who we face. Strong, powerful, skilled and the next best thing to immune to damage. Someone who has far more experience, far more practice, and far more everything than any of us."

Not everyone, Ichigo thought. "I know we can win the same way I sense you are stronger than him."

"What?" she frowned? "I thought you could sense our powers?"

"I can and you are only using a fraction of yours."

Her arms crossed over her chest. "I am not my brother, I am no Super Devil born with the power to rule."

"I don't know about that, but I know you have more power. It is calm now, like a quiet sea, but it burns with the same Power of Destruction. It is still in you."

"Don't you think I would have noticed something like that?"

"Not with that attitude."

"It is truth, my brother is the most powerful, the best, the greatest Devil in history, beyond the First. Beyond anyone." She spoke in pure adoration in that moment. "And I am not, I am as nothing compared to him."

He looked at her as she spoke that. The absolute belief in her voice and felt he understood. The disconnect between her and her own great power, she did not believe it possible. With every fiber of her being she thought it untrue. He could almost imagine her as she was now, the shadow of her brother shrouding her like a starless night.

He did not know what to do about it… there was the method that had been used on him, but he knew himself well enough to know that he could not strike at her with the intent to kill. He was not like his teachers, who were able to put his need to be stronger above his safety. "You believe that, you believe what you just said." Her eyes were like diamonds in the dark. "I'm going to break that, I am going to change your mind. You are so much more than just 'not your brother'."

She looked away and spoke quietly. "How will you do that, fate and truth are not something you can just cast aside at will."

"Because you are worth it, you are worth the effort of helping, of being a friend. It has nothing to do with your brother and everything to do with you being who you are. Rias Gremory, you are powerful, you have more power than you realize, you and Sona. I don't think whatever quirk of fate that left your siblings more powerful left either of you behind.

"I want to believe that so much," she whispered, "But I have seen my brothers power, his full power. I have seen him where he is That Which Consumes Everything. I say it again, that he is the greatest Devil in the world and he can barely control that power. Even if I have such a thing, the weak me would only be a danger."

He almost growled, as Rias began to tremble, stress built up began to come loose as tears, of fear, anger, and despair. He pulled her close to him, into an embrace and gave her that simple contact in her moment of weakness.

"I will prove it you," he said, "I promise."

Rias did not answer; she just clung to him and shivered.

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Zangetsu watched his shoulder; the gold chain was glowing white hot as the Inner World shook to the rhythm of the Dead God's dream. He watched as the chain grew longer, or rather slowly pulled it's way out of him. It seemed that the Dead God was doing what it had done best; it was creating something, preparing something. The chain kept growing kept using him as a...template or a vessel. It was not draining him or killing him he knew that much, but it was getting ready to...leave him, but leave him and do what?

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Rias finished crying and let go of him, leaning back to breathe through her stuffy nose. Ichigo shook his head. "I think I will show you how to throw a punch today, give you a chance to work though some things on me."

Rias nodded, a hint of a smile on her puffy red face "The one offensive thing you mentioned?"

"Yes." And without her surprising talent he would not have even shown her this but here they were.

"Do you really promise?" He blinked at the change of topic. "To show me," her mouths half quirked in what looked like both desperation and self disgust, "To save me?"

He stood up and reaching down pulled the woman to her feet looking her dead in the eye. "I promise." 'But if I have anything to say, you will be the one to do it' He thought. That was what she needed the most. If she decided to fully depend on him then her growth would never happen, that power would forever be lost. He would do so if it came to that, but Rias Gremory could be strong and what Protector would not want that. Either she grew strong to save herself or he would have to constantly be saving her. There was always someone stronger and Ichigo Kurosaki was not going to forget that.

"Ok." She whispered and leaned in to hug him, a gesture he returned. This might have a little more romantic connotation, but that could just be his Devil mind at work. "Thank you for listening to me whine, I could not bear to do it with Akeno this time because she is in the same boat I am in if he wins."

"Any time Rias," She shivered as he said her name in her ear, "Anytime."

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All was quiet as they stood in the club room, every one of them was at one hundred percent. Asia's attentions the night before had made sure of that. Ten days was not enough, but it was better than no time at all. Issei was at his side and, given what he had accomplished in this time, he had done pretty well.

"You ready?" He asked quietly.

"No." Was the simple reply. His arm was already covered in the red mail of his Sacred Gear and it clenched with an audible squeak of metal. "But that does not matter, does it?"

"Not really, things like this rarely come when we want them to."

"What should I do?" he asked.

"Do exactly what you did when you defended Asia. Despite any dispute we might have with one another, you do know the answer to that question."

"Right," He gulped, "I really hope so."

"Nel dinks you will do fine." Said the toddler on Ichigo's shoulder. To his senses the Arrancar burned with power, his power mostly. He had taken advantage of the ten days to channel as much of his Reiryoku into her as he could. This had been done while she slept in his bed during the night, their bond as Master and Familiar had opened a channel between them and there had not even been a dip in her power. It was as if his power was hers and vice versa. Right now, if a trump card was needed, Nel was going to be a hell of a big one if that was required. Even if she was not there was always whatever crisis was coming next.

The door opened and Sona walked into the room with Tsubaki at her side, her expression was one of pure business and a little worried. Ichigo nodded at her once, and then refrained from distracting her. Her eyes flickered to him, but that was the only acknowledgment she gave. "Um, what are the Student Council President and Vice President doing here?" Issei asked.

"In a rating game, a fight between two families are relayed by a third party, these two are..."

"We are not." Sona interrupted and Rias blinked, looking at her confused. "Given the circumstances," Her glance at the Rook both had created told them the answer, "My sister has agreed to relay the game. I and my peerage will be watching and cheering you on."

"Well then," Rias smiled, "I will do my best to give you a good first showing, my rival."

White light flared behind them and Ichigo sensed Grayfia before she arrived, her power unmistakable. The Queen Maid stepped out of the light to survey the room with her guarded eyes. "Are your preparations complete?"

The words had a sobering effect on the room, or at least most of it, if there was one thing Ichigo was not concerned with, it was battle. "Yes." Rias nodded, taking in a breath.

"Then when the time comes you will be transported by this summoning circle to the battleground." Which was as Ichigo understood it a gateway to a place in the dimensional gap, a place that, when he had it described to him, sounded a lot like the place between the hollow and human world. But anyway, it took them to an area created by the Maou Ajuka Beelzebub for the purpose of the game. It was where the battles happened, and also contained several special areas where observers and broadcasters could watch in safety.

Sona nodded at the Great Queen and leaned forward to whisper something to Rias. Whatever she said, it seemed to help as the girl kissed her rival on the cheek and Sona did so in turn. As Sona and Tsubaki walked to the white circle she passed just close enough to him and their hands brushed against one another, but that was all. "Good Luck and we will be there for you."

"Thank you again." Rias said, as the two girls vanished.

Grayfia gestured for all of them to stand. "Be on your best behavior," she warned them, "Not only is the broadcaster Serafall Leviathan-sama, but both Ajuka Beelzebub-sama and Sirzech Lucifer-sama will be in attendance."

"Three of the Maou." Kiba whispered in shock.

"Who?" Issei asked.

"Not right now." Rias chided him gently as they walked over to the white circle. It turned red as Rias channeled her power into it. One by one they all vanished in a flash of light, Ichigo noted as they did so that Grayfia eyes had not left him the entire time.

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Grayfia appeared in the space where two of the most powerful creatures in creation were sitting. Screens composed of spells woven into the Rating space showed those sitting here whatever they wanted to see. Her husband was had just pointed out one Ichigo Kurosaki to his fellow Maou, one that had asked to be her and judge the new Rook in Rias-sama's peerage, and judging by the man's expression of total and complete shock something was off.

"What in Hades' skeletal dick is that!" Akjuka shouted at the screen, which obliged its creator and focused in on the boy. They seemed to be explaining to the new Pawn what had just happened and why everything looked like the school they had supposedly just left.

"Fuck!" The maou shouted and the area around him began to morph, the throne vanishing replaced by a desk and at a snap of his fingers a large briefcase fell open, spilling out scratch paper and some odd devices.

"What is wrong?" Sirzech asked

"That...that.." The Beelzebub Maou seemed to be about to froth at the mouth. "What the fuck did your sister…." He paused and looked closer. "...SERAFALLL!" He shouted.

One screen opened to show said Maou getting ready to play her role as an observer and broadcaster. She flinched at the sound. "What Aja-Kun? I'm getting ready, you could have caught me naked."

"Remember when you asked me about if it was possible for two same pieces from two different would work for resurrection?"

"Uh, would it help if I said no?"

"Who the fuck is that?"

"Oh, you noticed Ichi-chan right off the bat?"

"I made this fucking system! Why does he have a Rook from both the Gremory House and the Sitiri House?"

"What?!" both Grayfia and Sirzechs said at the same time.

"How should I know? You said it was impossible."

"Well clearly I was wrong, and you knew it!"

"Mhhh." Serafall shrugged.

"If you think that is the weirdest thing about him you have…."

"I know that!" He shouted. "How the fuck did they turn a fucking goddamn Shinigami into a Devil?"

"I don't know, you said it was impossible." Serafall parroted.

"WELL CLEARLY I WAS WRONG!"

"Beelzebub-sama," Grayfia interrupted, "Do I need to stop the match."

"Y..." He hesitated, glancing at Sirzech, "Well…." He took in a deep breath and forced it back out in a rush. "No rules have been broken….because no one should need to make rules like that…..But no, there is no grounds for stopping. Hell, this is not even considered cheating because it does not exist in the rules." He laughed and it sounded almost manic. "My system is broken, ruined, shot! Up is down, black is white…."

"Ajkua, calm down." Sirzech said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"No, you don't get it, even if his kind could be transformed, even if two Pieces from two different Kings could work, _that_ , should not be possible."

"Why not?" Sirzech asked

"Look at him, look at his cost."

"Eight." Sirzech said

"Eight." Serafall said.

"Oh…" the Maou lowered his head. "I'm going to have to fix that now, too."

"What do you mean old friend?" The Lucifer asked.

"Not eight, you see eight because that is the only thing the spells could show you, but it is not eight." one of the screens showed the number. "This is what you see," The number tilted left until it was laying flat. "This is what I see."

The room was dead silent as they stared in shock as Serafall spoke "Infinity?"

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"Everyone," The voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. After the teleportation there had been a pause of a minute or two. "I, Grayfia, the maid of Gremory will be the referee. Today's match will be between the House of Gremory and the House of Phenex. After consultation with both parties, today's battle ground will be the school which Rias-sama attends. Rias-sama's Headquarters is the Occult Research Club Room and Riser-sama's headquarters is the Principal's room."

Ichigo closed his eyes and let his senses expand until he could sense the cluster of power right where Grayfia had said. "Pawns can be promoted if they successfully infiltrate the enemy headquarters." With those final words she became silent and the Rating Game began.

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Ajuka was writing furiously on his scratch paper, Serafall was in the space with them now as the Beelzebub had simply moved her space to his by will alone and he was currently ripping any facts he could out of the Leviathan who seemed more than happy to give it though most of her attention was on the Boy in the screen.

Grayfia finished speaking and stepped beside her husband. She could see the pure mischief in his eyes. "I don't think there will be any need to inform the Phenex Party of any irregularities, since there was no rule being broken."

"How much do you think this changes things, Lord Husband?"

"I'm not sure, but it will be fascinating to see." he laughed a little. "Looks like my baby sis has a real chance after all."

"Perhaps, though the point system judges more things than power and I think we would have noticed someone with unlimited power."

"I agree!" Ajuka called. "Probably potential and it might be a glitch, I'm working on it." There was a moment of pause. "Well of course we can't sense him, no other supernatrual can sense those Isolationist assholes besides a few select humans and those monsters." Another pause.

"Wait, he said he has more than one race." Serafall said, and he slammed his head on the desk.

"Tell me that before, not after."

"Well, it seems they are heading to the Gymnasium," Grayfia said only slightly disturbed at the Beelzebub's actions, "It is the center of the board so to speak, and Riser had the same idea."

"Three versus four and the boy is with them."

"Old friend," Sirzech called, causing Akuja to look up, "Kurosaki is about to fight, you might want to watch."

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Ichigo, with Nel on his shoulder, kept quiet while following Koneko and Issei as they moved silently through the emergency exit door into the gym. A quick sword strike had stopped the alarm from ever sounding and they were making good time. Their part of the plan was simple, take the Gym and hold it until they were told to leave.

He found them wandering up the stairs to the stage and smiled a little at the memory of his first time here. "Three inside, on the court." He said quietly.

As if to confirm that, all the lights flared on and a voice range out. "We know you are there, Servants of Gremory."

Issei's shoulders dropped. "I guess there is no point." He mumbled.

Ichigo schooled his face to neutral as Koneko stood and led them out onto the stage. "So both Rooks and the little Pawn." The girl who spoke was a well-endowed woman with shoulder length black hair, done up in chinese buns, and green eyes. She wore a full length Qipao, or at least it was pretending to be one, as the darn thing looked like someone had taken a pair of scissors to it and opened up the chest, the cloth up her sides and for good measure took away most of the cloth covering her right leg.

To her right, two small girls, shorter than even Koneko, had to be twins with green hair the same length, turquoise eyes and both wearing white tee shirts with white socks and blue tennis shoes. Their shorts, however, were these skin-tight black spats-like things that were far far too tight. But not as bad as bloomers, nor even half as distracting, but that was probably unique to him. Oh, yes, and they both had chainsaws.

"Oh and we get to take down the prideful one."

"Yes," her sister called, "We call the tall, prideful one."

The fourth one rolled her eyes. She was the most modest of the group with her blue hair done up in an old pony tail style split into four tails. She work a Haori and red Obi which, while a bit short ,was still better than the get ups the rest of her peerage mates were sporting and in her hands was as staff with two weighted ends. "I guess I'll take the Pawn?"

"Yes," the Rook said, "the white haired is the most dangerous of this lot." The heat in the room began to increase. "I'll face her."

Issei took a breath and let it out. "Ok!" He yelled. "I get to show the fruits of my training!" He leapt off the stage before either of them and rushed the Pawn that had called him as an opponent. The girl rolled her eyes again and moved forward suddenly and slammed the staff into Issei's chest sending him flying back. Ichigo reached out and caught the boy arresting his motion and setting him back on the ground.

He did not look bad off, just sheepish. "Do not underestimate your opponents," He glanced at the twins, "Even if they are just Jailbait incarnate."

"Hey, you can't insult Ile like that!"

"Ya, you can't insult Nel like that!"

"Ohhh, Itsygo!" His Nel spoke up as she peeked over his shoulder. "She has the same name as Nel."

There was a moment of silence. "She's adorable." The rook said.

Ichigo nodded and gently set her down on the stage. "Wait right there, ok?"

"Ok." She walked over to the edge of the stage and sat down her little legs dangling over the edge, drawing a collective awww from almost everyone.

"Uh, mister why did you bring your kid?" IIe asked.

"She is my familiar," His face took on a terrible expression, "Don't attack her, or you will regret it."

"R-right, we have one of those 'don't attack' people on our team too."

"Ok, we really should start fighting." the Pawn with the staff said. "I'm starting to feel awkward." That seemed to be enough for them all as each exploded into motion or rather everyone except Ichigo who calmly walked off the stage and onto the air seeming to use it as stairs rather than falling through it.

"Ok, that was cool." IIe said as she and her sister revved up their chainsaws. While tempted to play around with them and do something cool like show how outmatched they were...that was not how he was trying to do things. His power rose inside him and flashed, shrouding his skin and solidifying into his armor. He reached back and drew out Zangetsu from his sheath at his hip, he and the twins squared off and charged at the same time. No playing around, but neither would he show off any of his abilities yet, if he could help it.

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"There is his Zanpakuto." Akuja murmured. The Maou had set up several devices on his desk one of which was showed a number in glowing blue, another covered in buttons and antenna and a third that was recording all that was happening.

"What is that?"

"Well, I'm not sure. They say..."

Serafall interrupted. "It's a piece of his soul forged for battle, made to purify ghosts and kill monsters." Akuja did not yell, he just wrote that down. "It's really cool and kind of cute."

The screens showed each of the separate battles in the Gym, with Grayfia watching all of them. She watched as the White haired Rook met her counterpart in combat. The one called Xuelan unleashed a series of swift kicks aimed at her head and chest. Flame blazed around her foot, increasing the power and range of damage. Koneko, for her part. dodged…. dodged every one...Grayfia had seen Rias's-sama's peerage practice when the girl had visited her father. It had been less than a year, but the difference was astounding.

At particularly long kick aimed at her head Koneko dropped her body, twisting, her leg sweeping out. The attack should have been avoidable, but with the rote motion of countless practice and the speed that surpassed what a Rook, even of her build, should have been capable of, the Rook of Riser was swept from her feet. To the poor girl it must have seemed that her situation had changed in the blink of an eye. Koneko attacked and Xuelan recognizing her danger unleashed her firepower, her feet igniting, and the force from the thrust started bending her body. Her hand just touched ground when Koneko hit, though the change in position had thrown off the blow, aimed for her lower back, right square into her butt. Which was not the worst place to be hit, though the strength of the white haired girl sent her opponent flying. She slammed into the ground several times as she spun before she righting, though when she tried to stand up she winced, her left hand moving her he bruised backside.

That was all the time she had as her opponent was on her. She wobbled as her leg swept up and it cost her as Koneko blocked the blow with her bare forearm, accepting the damage of the flame on her skin and returned the blow with an uppercut that hit the taller Rook so hard the poor girl slammed into the roof of the gymnasium and was pushed almost halfway through it before vanishing in blue motes of light.

That was just one fight she kept an eye on. The Issei boy looked to be doing well, surprisingly so, as the staff his opponent, named Mira, clanged against his Sacred Gear. His skill did not seem to be up to par, but his body was. The speed at which he reacted to his attacker's blows was impressive and while he did take another hit, he managed to only get pushed back a few feet. He tilted his head at Mira. "That did not really hurt?"

The Pawn's eyes flashed with sudden fury. "Let me rectify that then, you don't seem to need those balls!" Announcing her attack proved fatal, the boy let out a yelp and spun away from the blow aimed at his groin and continued the spin his armored fist clenched. Before the pawn could recover her stance the blow crashed into her side hard enough to knock her off her feet and trigger the rating game safety system, but a heartbeat before that could happen a green symbol glowed on her clothing. There was a tearing sound and the pawn's clothes simply disintegrated leaving both her butt and breasts displayed to the world for the long seconds it took for her to be whisked away. But sadly not before she could feel the horror at the loss and see the idiot grin on the boy who had done it to her.

Then there was the last fight she watched. Now fully armored Kurosaki faced the two twin Pawns of Riser. The siblings rushed him with decent cooperation, though chainsaws were not the best weapons in the world, but their's seemed to have been magically enhanced, probably lighter and shaper too.

Nel reached him first, her attack coming in at his ankles, and she was just low enough that her sister could swing her saw over her and and at the boy's chest. His foot came up and down smashing into the flat of the blade and pinning it to the floor. With his blade he blocked IIe's weapon and with a light grunt sent it flying out of her hands. The pawns seemed to have underestimated a Rook's strength if she had to guess. His blade flicked out like a snake the blade passing though where her body would have been, but the system pulled her out before so much as a drop of blood was shed. Nel let go of her weapon, trying to jump away seeing her sister be retired, but she was just not fast enough as the Rook drove his fist into her face, thus smashing her into and through the floor before she was pulled out.

All in all Grayfia thought it was a more than credible showing by Rias-sama's servants. Her eyes flicked to the other battles as the Knight eliminated Riser's three remaining Pawns, one by one. "Six of Riser's pawns and one Rook have been eliminated." She announced.

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Koneko glared at Issei. "Don't touch me" she ordered

"I was not going to." The boy said with his hands up. "Plus, I would never to that to an Ally."

"Even then, it is a disgusting move."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, battle often meant that disgusting things became commonplace, though Issei had not needed to use it….still it was on an enemy and he could not be responsible for the whole fucking world. He paused, frowning. "Rias, Riser is sending something big our way." His words were echoed through communication.

"Not Riser himself?" she replied

"His Queen." Ichigo said after a moment.

"Get out of the building, try and draw her out." Ichigo made a motion and Nel leapt onto his back. With that, all of them fled the building quickly. Riser's Queen was getting closer, though she was high in the air and when he glanced into the green sky he could not see any movement even when he knew she was there.

"Riser's Queen is known to us." It was Akeno speaking. "Yubelluna, the Bomb Queen. A user of fire magic known for being able to cause high damage attacks that, so far, have not failed to eliminate those she has hit directly."

"That sounds unpleasant." Ichigo replied. "So, I know Akeno was supposed to nuke the building, but how about nuking a Queen? Hell, I'll even act as bait."

There was a moment of silence through the communication. "Why you?" Rias asked.

"She might be willing to suspend disbelief if she sees me alone. I did call out her Master and his peerage seems to like him. Also, I am the toughest and have full confidence I can take a direct hit...not that I plan too. But if me, Koneko and Issei can distract her, a good solid nuke from Akeno might get rid of Riser's greatest threat."

There was a long moment of silence. "Ok, you have not failed me so far. I will leave it to you."

Ichigo nodded. "Alright, everyone listen up."

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Yubelluna flew at a cautious speed, the power of her veil was only good enough to a certain point. Riser had been clear that she was to have the element of surprise. After all, the enemy had proved a great deal more….intense than expected.

 _Riser steepled his fingers as the voice of the Ultimate Queen announced the defeat of all the advance force at near the same time. They had watched the battle of the gym through the eyes of Riser-sama's familiar. "Better than I had been told." She nuzzled her head in the side of his neck as, below the desk, Li and Mi, the last two of his pawns, worked to relief any stress their master was feeling. And, from his expression, they were doing quite well. It had been worth the effort to teach them proper technique. 'Little Rias must think she has the some sort of advantage now...hmmm, I really should not let that stand' "Yubelluna, dear, go even the odds a bit before I send out the Isabella, Sirius and Karlamine."_

" _It would be my pleasure Riser-sama." The words were almost orgasmic as she stood up and began to move, careful to sway her hips and show her skin in the perfect way that he loved. She could feel his eyes following her, burning a hole in her clothing. "Do use the normal strategy dear, no need for pointless risks."_

And so she moved with as much speed as could, and this battlefield was not that big, so as her eyes swept the open fields her mouth quirked as she spotted movement. "Someone by themselves...the Knight perhaps." She got closer to get a better look at the figure as he moved between the little cover there was in his particular area. Ahh, it was boy, the one whose words had put her Master in that funk, the arrogant one who seemed to think himself a match for her Riser-sama.

She hesitated though, they had seen him with that toddler on his back and the child was nowhere to be found. Riser had told her to have a care...she waited as he paused and said something, no doubt with communication. His head never turned her way at least not directly, he did scan the skyline, like any moderately smart Devil did, but missed her entirely. She watched until he was about to reach the main building, her hand raised as she focused her power into a tiny space. This was her skill, what she was best at, the power of a simple fireball compressed into a small space. An expenditure of energy that was small compared to its powerful effect.

Her power shot out of her, a purple circle flashing down towards the boy like a bullet, her body surged with pure thrill at seeing the lovely explosion, only to be ruined by the sight of a blue shield of energy. The boy glanced at her and there was no surprise on his face, the shield vanished and she hurled several quick bolts at him, each exploding with the force of a brick of C4, but he vanished. There was a sound of static behind her and she whirled to see him, blade swinging. She blocked with her staff, but he did not say anything, his expression never flickered and his raw strength was unbelievable. It was beyond a Rook, which she could match, far more than she had been prepared for.

It launched her back and down, the pure pressure of the blow causing her wings to spread out and curl in on her. She managed to slow herself enough that her feet touched the ground at only a mildly rough speed. Big mistake on his part, giving her distance, clearly she needed to change her strategy. Raw fire was not the way she liked to do things, but she moved her staff and power flowed through it and several lances of fire shot out, curving to her will. All locked onto the weak Devil Power of her opponent. He twisted in the air, flying without wings in an odd fashion that seemed more effective than even herself. There was an ease at which he avoided the fire, but that was not the point. She pulled more power from herself, trying to form bombs in his path, but he seemed to sense them and avoided the explosions. His blade flashing out and cutting apart the fire lances...which exploded as the hidden bombs in them were unleashed.

The blasts knocked him spinning and she frowned at the minimal amount of damage he seemed to have suffered, his white armor was scuffed but it seemed she would need a direct hit. Good thing all that had been a distraction as the air around the boy suddenly glowed with dozens of purple circles.

The instant before she triggered them there was an explosion of pain in the back of her head, the impact sending her spinning across the ground. She caught a glimpse of the other enemy Rook before her tumble showed her the fact that she was barreling into the only Pawn of the enemy team. The pain in her head made it hard to focus and whatever was screaming BOOST was not helping.

That was the last thought she had time for when an armored hand slammed up into her gut so hard she vomited out her lunch onto the luckless enemy. Any other member of the peerage would have been retired by that blow, but she, Riser's most powerful servant, was still fighting. The blow sent her up and her hand fumbled for the Phoenix tear in her pocket. A flicker of green on the cloth over her chest glowed and her face went white. The spell ignited its power shrouding her clothing and then it simply disintegrated. She screamed as her boobs, butt and slit were suddenly and abruptly on view for what felt like the whole fucking world. Only Riser or her peerage sisters were supposed to see her like this.

On that thought her hands moved to cover her breasts and between her legs...and she watched as the only chance she would have had to grab her vile of phoenix tears slipped away as the vile fell down, down and almost onto the boy who had did this to her. He was shaking himself in a panicked disgust and by pure luck caught the vile without meaning to. Kill, murder, death, she was going to visit all these things on...was that thunder?

Her upward momentum slowed, but dulled by pain and humiliation she could only watch as the enemy Queen flickered into sight as her veil was ended. The girl winked at her and blew a kiss before her world went white with pain, for the briefest of instants, then she was retired.

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Riser's fists clenched the wooden desk so hard that it shattered. Pure anger flooded his being. To see his Queen so roughly treated. Even though the analytical part of his brain acknowledged the trap for the decent move that it was, obvious now that it was revealed and a mistake they would not have made against an experienced opponent, was annoying….Rias was turning out to have a knack for this, or at least finding people that worked well together.

He forced his anger down, mind racing as he accepted the facts of the reality in front of him. Number one, it seemed Rias and her peerage were far more capable than first anticipated. Number two, they had some advanced warning of Yubelluna even with her stealthy approach and the same went for his three pawn's infiltration. So right now he had to assume that they had a general knowledge of where he and his peerage was. Three, they were, at this moment, concentrated in the edge of his territory...it was time for a change of plans. "Mihae, Karlamine, Siris, Isabella, abandon my previous orders. Fall back and join me at the school's entrance." He glanced at Mi and Li both having returned from the restrooms where both had freshened up. "You two with me, I am invoking Operation Screaming Eagles." A fancy and overbearing name for 'consolidate forces and attack the enemy as a single unit', but even men like him had flaws.

"Yes Master." Replied his girls.

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"Rias," Ichigo said, "I think Riser is gathering everyone and coming this way."

There was a pause, but no question or request for clarification. "Retreat to the Tennis Courts, I will meet you there, Akeno you will join me for magical artillery. I know that you cannot use your best attack and I am willing to bet Riser does too, so I will do the heavy lifting. We will do our best to slow them down, if any of you have any injuries Asia will be with me at the Tennis Courts. Koneko, Yuuto, Issei and Ichigo, do your best to hold them at the tennis courts, but retreat if you are pressed once the flank attack happens it will be an all in."

"Yes Buchou." They all replied as Ichigo picked up Koneko and began to make his way to the court. Issei, Kiba and Akeno flew next them him, behind them he could sense Riser and the rest of his peerage had gathered fully and were headed this way. "Nel." He said as they flew and the toddler poked her head over his shoulder.

"Yeth?"

"Make sure to stay out of the way. Remember, you are my trump card." Koneko raised her eyebrow at that statement but said nothing.

"Ok." Nel replied and nuzzled her face against his cheek. "I will be good."

He nodded and then frowned as his awareness found a new power, one from Riser's side, but by itself and out ahead of the group. Advanced Scout perhaps? They hit the tennis courts and Ichigo put Nel and Koneko down and turned, raising his arm as the power which, now that he was focused on it, felt a lot like Riser Phenex but not the same. The soul was different. "Buchou," he said, "One of his pieces is heading this way, ahead of the others."

"Don't attack until you see who it is." An image of a blond girl flashed in his mind. "Do not attack if this is the one you see, she is his little sister and quite powerful in her own right. However Riser does not use her for combat or anything more than cheerleading. I am not sure why, but if she is left alone then one of his Bishop pieces stay out of play and that is good for us."

"Got ya." He shook his head, remembering the Rook's statement about having a noncombatant. Oh well, he would get his answer soon as, in a blaze of fire, the power he was sensing entered his sight. The sight resolved itself into a girl with wings of pure flame screeching down towards them, slowing as she neared the ground and landing with a light, ladylike, step. Her face was the image Rias had sent him, the girl stood about six inches taller than Koneko with blond hair tied into twin tails and somehow….made to have a descending, drill-like shape. She wore an oddly-elegant pink dress with white frills and a bow in the front. Blue eyes looked at them like one might look at animals in a zoo, but with less interest. She hid that expression behind a smile. "Greetings to you, servants of Rias Gremory." She gave a slight dip of her head to them. "I am Ravel Phenex, a pleasure to meet you." Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"To cheer my brother on, of course. He is quite miffed right now and I don't think he will merciful." She giggled. "He really does like his servants and seeing them manhandled and molested like that is hard."

Having no real response to that he shrugged. "Not gonna defend Issei on that one, gotta admit."

She blinked at him. "Oh….well, uh….well, my brother is still going to burn you all for that."

"I won't let him." Ichigo replied easily.

For some reason she did not dismiss him out of hand like others had done, her head tilted as she stared at him. "You do seem confident about that, but do not think whatever strange power you have will save you. My brother is the strongest." Her eyes glowed with warmth at the words. "He does what needs to be done for our family and protects our honor and what you have done, what you all have done to his peerage will not stand." She said that last part with a withering glare at Issei who cringed slightly, but almost at once squared his shoulders.

"You people are enemies of Buchou and it is a valid tactic." He parroted the words Ichigo had used….probably not understanding he had only done so for his own sanity, but it still sounded good. "You...you brute." She moved back until her back was to a tennis court wall "D-don't you dare touch me or I will kill you!"

Issei rolled his eyes. "I'm not a monster, geeze. If you don't fight, nothing happens."

Ichigo glanced in the direction Riser and his group would come from, if they continued their current movement. "They are moving pretty slow." His eyes flickered to Ravel who smiled.

"I'm a non combatant, I will offer advice in battle, but I will not abuse this to cheat."

"Hmm."

"I honestly don't care if you believe me or not, though I would like to know how you seem to know where my brother and his peerage is."

"Need to know, princess." He said sarcastically.

Ravel narrowed her eyes at him, but did not snap back a reply, though that might have been because Nel was waddling up to her. She had insisted on wearing her brown shirt for any sort of conflict and thus was in full adorable mode. He tensed, readying the power to call Nel over at a second's notice. "Hellow." she said.

Ravel stared down at the toddler for a long moment. "H-hello." she replied.

"Nel wiks your dress."

"Oh, thank you little one." She glanced up. "Your kid, if I remember?"

"My familiar." He replied.

"Oh...she's adorable."

"Nel is adorable." The arrancer replied.

"Mmmmm." She made a sound and glanced up at him, then back down at her, then back up, her mouth opening and closing.

"Oh, for the love of..." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can hold her, if she lets you."

"I was not going to ask that." Ravel said firmly and it would have been a lot more convincing if she had not already had the happy Arrancer on her hip.

"Right….."

Ravel looked away for a moment before seeing to find something to say. "You're not going to beat my brother, you know."

"Not unless I have to." He agreed.

"...what?"

"Buchou will." He told the girl. "Speaking of which." Ichigo glanced over at the rest of his peerage, noting Rias landing on top of the building behind them with Akeno. "Back in a second." he said and vanished, leaving Ravel to sputter at empty air, appearing beside Rias who almost managed not to jump a little in surprise. "Riser is coming." He said, after a moment for her to recover.

She let out a breath. "I know."

"You're going to need all your power to beat him, not the paltry amount you use right now." She gave him a look as Akeno tilted her head at that statement.

Rias lowered her voice. "You keep saying that, but I have never seen any evidence of this. Last night I tried." Her voice lowered further. "I tried so hard, I wanted what you said to be true so badly, but there is nothing."

"Wanting is not the same thing as believing, Rias Gremory. You need to let go of that fear, you can't waste time worrying about the what if's."

"What ifs are all I have left." She whispered, her head leaning forward, hair shrouding her face.

He reached down and grabbed her hand in his. "Then trust in us." He gestured to her peerage, arrayed down before and beside her. "If you cannot believe in yourself, then let us do it for you."

"Ara Ara, it seems I am being put to shame." Akeno moved over and took Rias' other hand. "I'm supposed to be the Queen you naughty boy," Her face softened, "But he is right my king. I believe in you, we all do."

Tears fell under the shroud of hair. "Oh, you children." Rias whispered, her voice rough. "You give me so much, how can I be worth it?"

"The Blade of my Soul once said to me, that if I trusted in him that I would not be alone, that he would give me all the power I needed and he has not been wrong yet."

"Then show me." Rias said. "Show me that you could carry me, all that I am, all the mistakes, the baggage, the blood." She looked up at him, at her Queen, eyes desperate, needing to believe, wanting to...something clicked and Ichigo knew that now was the time.

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The door to the what looked like an old school building, creaked open as a girl knocked lightly. She hesitated, looking in to see no one. "Hello?" She called. No one answered. "Kurosaki-kun?" No answer. Inoue Orihime hesitated, she was not one for trespassing, but it had been so long since she had seen her friend and she could sense him in this building….or something like that. The sensation was odd and distinct now that she was here.

She took in a breath and stepped into the building, hoping whoever owned it would be understanding. It had been a long day for her, saying her goodbyes to Tatsuki and the others, packing up the previous night, one last sleepover. Then the early start to get her stuff to the new apartment, unpack, make a lunch, then go to see Ichigo again. She had felt his presence for a moment there. It had become muted before he left, now that she was standing here in the building she remembered what it felt like. That time she had sought him out in that warehouse, he had been there but not, she had been forced to use her power to break the barrier.

But what was she thinking, how would Kurosaki-kun be in that situation again? The building was well furnished and had a woman's touch, or more than one. Orihime slipped through another open door leading to room with two couches, one shower in the corner and a desk. She followed her sense of Kurosaki around the desk and came to a stop. She could sense him, sense him right here in front of her, but there was nothing. She leaned forward and down she could faintly see something etched into the wood.

She used her finger to trace the outline of a circle...she stood up and took a breath, pausing to make sure that she felt Kurosaki's soul before her. His fire was as it had always been, warm, protective…. but there was something new, it had changed. She opened her eyes and set her will. Light flared around hairpins, her power at its most base was the rejection of phenomena. She used it for healing and defenses, as this came naturally, but just as she had pierced the barrier of the Vizards she was going to pierce whatever was between her and her friend. "I reject!" Four lights shot out from her hairpins, lines of orange intersecting like a door, and the space in between them vanished, forced out of reality by the godlike power of this sweet young girl. She stepped through without hesitation, pulling the part of her power she had used back to her as the door closed and new space filled it.

She was somewhat surprised to step into...something like a stadium box. It had windows like a sports box, but each window had a different scene on it. There were comfortable looking chairs, a table with sandwich, stuff laid out with expensive looking healthy drinks in a tasteful display of ice art….and there were people. In fact she almost ran into a boy he was a few inches taller than her with blonde hair, a little messy, but not quite to the level of Kurosaki. He was staring at her, a sandwich half in his mouth, eyes wide as they flicked down to her chest before choking.

The sound brought other eyes to her, people her age, many very beautiful, or, in the boy's case, about half as good looking as Kurosaki-Kun. She frowned in concern as he actually looked to be choking. "I reject." She said and orange light shrouded him, wiping what was choking him from existence.

"Wa-wa-wa-what?" The boy fell back.

Inoue gave them her best smile. "I am so sorry for the intrusion; I came here looking for Kurosaki-Kun."

She had never seen a face fall so quickly as the boy she had saved "Of course you are." He muttered.

There was a long pause as she noted the even more intense scrutiny of the tall blue haired girl and the dark haired one with the glasses. "Oh, right. Um, I'm Inoue Orihime, a friend of Kurosaki from his hometown."

The girl with glasses blinked. "The transfer student." The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath, making a motion with her hand which caused the others in the room to relax. "And I am Sona Sitri, Student Council President of Kuoh Academy."

"Oh that means you're my new Kaichou, we did not have one of those back where I lived." She kept her smile. "And you are all not human, hmm."

"You can just sense it, like he can." Sona asked.

"Umm…."

"What's your relationship with Ichigo?" The blue haired girl asked.

"Tsubasa." Sona chided.

"Childhood friends." Orihime replied.

"Um," Reya said, "I think a better question is 'how did she get here', because it was not teleportation."

Sona favored her with a smile. "That is most wise and correct." She nodded at Orihime. "Be welcome, Ms. Inoue, as a guest to this Rating Game viewing."

"Oh, thank you." That was a relief, the window like screen shifted and...and there he was. Her heart soared at the sight of him armored, with a blade at his back. He was stepping away from a gorgeous girl, his face set as it always was when he fought. She could tell he cared about those behind him. "You got your powers back!"

Tsubasa sighed loudly at her expression. "That's another one." Saji cursed under his breath.

Sona turned back to look at Kurosaki-Kun, as did Tsubasa, and Inoue saw in their eyes what she saw in Rukia's eyes, they loved him. Just as she did, it made her heart hurt and soar to see it, to know his effect, to know who he was.

"Please come sit down Ms. Inoue," Sona said, "We can watch from here and I will do my best to explain what is happening." Orihime noticed that the girl had pulled out what looked like a Knight chess piece and set it on the table beside her.

She walked over and gently sat at her side, finding the chair to be quite comfortable, but she could have been sitting on glass and she would have been comfortable because she could see him, she could feel him. He was still muffled somewhat, but whatever had changed he was still, at his core, the same, he was still their Guardian.

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Zangetsu watched as the last bits of the gold chain fell out of his shoulder. Left behind was a pauldron of gold, the chain became molten as it slipped off the building. He followed it down watching it twist, as if a living thing. An internal light grew bright as they fell, as the metal pressed and ran, shifting into something else.

They hit water level and the impact sent a shock of steam half way up the buildings. Zangetsu endured the sudden discomfort as he waited. The water rippled as something else rose from the water, and he just stared. He, Zangetsu, former shard of the Quincy King, was in shock. He understood….he understood what was happening, what had been copied from him.

It was a secret only he truly knew, that the boy whom he served, wielded an incomplete tool. From the very beginning, from the first moment of awakening, the way it had happened, how it had continued. It had all been missing something, a core of power that all Shinigami possessed, save Ichigo Kurosaki.

They called it Asauchi, the first and perhaps truest form of Zanpakuto. The first blade from which a soul shaped forth the being that would one day be the blade of their soul. It was something that Ichigo had never possessed, for He had always been with him, the piece of a greater being sent to protect. In truth, the part of him that was White stood as the being much closer to Ichigo Kurosaki's True Zanpakuto. Yet even he was missing the core, for there had never been one….until now. The golden katana that floated before him, the weapon formed by the Dead God and, as it had severed the connection to the Quincy King, so too was by this act was the severance of the link to the Soul King. He looked up at the sky which boiled as Ichigo Kurosaki spoke the words to draw him out, to awaken their power.

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"I am the Guardian seeking domination and supremacy of the self."

"I am that who rejects the infinite, I am he who denies the dream."

"I shall become the Blade, before which fate and reason die."

"And I shall take you to the heights of our shining future."

"Engage, Zangetsu!"

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 **Do you people have any idea how long I slaved away at that last paragraph! ever since I started this fic I wanted to so something that would help make clear what place Ichigo was being given in the dxd story. I think I got with this and that makes me happy (ok thats a lie, with transformation words I always feel like I could do better but you have to choose something time). I have been waiting since the start for this moment and it feels good to reach it.**

 **Now I think I will try something new here at the end, and put a few comments that I found great or that had questions I feel I can answer. Anyway I hope you all enjoy.**

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 **Revan1989**

 _ **Great chapter. I really enjoyed Ichigo's introduction to Riser.**_

 _ **On the other hand Akeno's introduction to White was a bit of a mixed bag. As a one time thing it would be okay, but if you plan to build on this? I cant see me enjoying it (it would be really weird if a part of Ichigo's soul has his own girlfriend/mate/whatever).**_

 **(Its odd, I don't consider White and Ichigo a different person, White is a part of the whole of Ichigo, at least as I understand it. In all technically any girlfriend or lover that Ichigo has is also a girlfriend and lover of white. Akeno was there, drawn into his inner world right after she had straddled him and very much had turned him on. White is his instinct unbound restraint and Ichigo does like the girl and respect her for what she had done with Asia. So White which is still just a part of Ichigo saw no reason to let out a little steam. As to where this might go well =) you will just have to wait and see)**

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 **Jollyreade23**

 _ **love the new chapter, I've been with fic for a while now and just recently I started played bleach brave souls and on the app they recently released the Segunda Etapa forms for both Grimmjow and Nelliel and since I remembered that you are in fact using Nell I figured I'd give you a link to the pic .fyi/characters/61332-nelliel-tu-odelschwanck-cfyow-version**_

 **(Holy fucking shit thank you, I love it, though I think it is supposed to be a form beyond Segunda Etapa as the pic show her fused with the Hogyoku but that is sure as shit not going to stop me from using this, thank you)**

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 **Haney**

 _ **This story is so good I love it keep up the good work. Just one little thing Riser is not actually the heir to the Phoenix clan, but like I said love the story can't wait to see what happens next!**_

 **(Crap that was my bad, I will see if I can go about fixing that plot hole or at least pretend it never existed thank you)**

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 **Mana's Cinder**

 _ **One thing I definitely do not like is this thing at the end with some nerd watching the energy readings in Kuoh and how he's reporting on it. I mean, there's definitely other interesting energies being used in that area all the time. It's mentioned as a "No Patrol, No Enter" area, and yet he somehow notices a flare of spirit energy? I don't think it's really anything that's either their business or anything they can do anything about considering the whole "Stay away from that place" order.**_

 **(To clarify the scene that guy was just scanning part of Japan not just Kuoh and that was an anomaly that he had to report but did not think it a big deal.)**

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 **Biblio288**

 _ **Lots of fun thing to read as well. I am never going to get tired of how you have the characters interact in this story. You are taking a most unique approach to Asia, I have literally never seen anyone try anything similar with her.**_

 **(While I am sure someone has done a few things similar with Aisa, though I have never read anything like it either. I just wanted to do a few fun new things with my story and part of it was, what would happen if the main effect of Asia was not Issei or Ichigo but Akeno and how would that Asia react to pleasure, lust and affection. Combine that with my own ideas on how a devil transformation changes people and my mind came up with what you see here.)**

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 **TigerJacob**

 _ **Interesting take on raiser and while you might be going in a different direction than just pure scumbag I have to question his comment on "being the strongest of his generation" is that coming from raiser and his ego or you? Cause sairog exists and that's all that needs to be said.**_

 **(Very true, but Riser is arrogant and as far as I know he had never fought Sairog though he did learn to fight from him. In my mind this is more of a ….Eh I can take him… style of thought. It is not backed up by anything and Riser himself if he really things about would know that, but why do that when you have fourteen girls you can have fun with to sooth your ego….I say fourteen because I don't think Riser was banging his sister)**

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 **Yami-Guy**

 _ **I didn't get the chance to respond to your AN before you updated but ill put here anyway. I have to say you either didn't bring it up or just not mention the other side of the coin for the whole harem debacle. Point one is simply why would a Devil care about fairness? Sure it is Ichigo but at the same time if he is being changed due to his new physiology why wouldn't some aspects of his being change too? Devils will probably by default be much more greedy and selfish than the average human.**_

 _ **So why the hell would a devil want to share in an emotion which is by and far the most selfish of all...aka Love? Yes you could bring up the whole harems are many people in love with the same person bit but I will contest that with, 'People are naturally hypocritical...it is expected'. If Harems are so common among devils then there will be a standard that will probably be observed. Sure love may happen in a harem situation( which is iffy by circumstance ) but you don't hear about harem members going around with other people. What you are describing is not a harem but an open relationship with emotional support. Or you know...a swingers club.**_

 **(So these are all good points and I did not mean to imply that it would be something like a swingers club. In my mind this is still about the emotion of love and how it affects all the members of a group, I contend that Devils seem to have a different way of processing emotions such as love, lust, and all the others such as being able to love more than a dozen persons in a romantic way and still be somewhat sane after thousands of years. I am going to explore more into the ways such beings change by being in relationships like this and interconnections between the members of the group itself might get a little but weird but that is the fun of fanfiction about and Ecchi universe.**

 **Also about Ichigo, he is part devil now and that transformation has affected him much more than the others, but he is still an oddball hybrid so things are going to strange about him.**

 **Lastly I am glad about the myriad of people who committed on this topic, it was what I was hoping for when I wrote about it. I love reading people's ideas about it and seeing where they disagree. So thank you to all who responded about this, the commets have given me a lot to think about.)**

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 **(Also below is my fav comment of last chapter)**

 **Regfurby**

 _ **(**_ _ **Somehow, I get the feeling that Asia would enjoy being the meat in a four-way sandwich…)**_

 **=)**

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 **Hope you all enjoyed I plan on doing this after every chapter if things stay this fun.**

 **Have a good day**

 **Fanboy913**


	22. Chapter 21

**Here we go hope you all enjoy and thankyou to Aroneden for proofreading.**

 **So without further ado**

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A pillar of light pierced the sky, the sight of it, the volume of it froze Raiser's group in their tracks, the gale-force winds buffeted them like a storm and the light cast them into shadow. An odd, unsettling sensation in this rating game space. Riser Phenex stared at the pillar, conflicting thoughts warring for dominance in his head. Surely if what they were seeing was real and a threat they would be able to sense such a power. It made no sense to see such a huge manifestation and feel nothing. He glanced around at the remainder of his girls, his peerage, they all looked to him for guidance and none of them showed any doubt in his ability. He took in a breath, remembering the words Sairaorg had spoken to him about fighting in a rating game. "No one dies in it, so there is nothing to be lost by trying."

He set himself and let his wings of fire flare in defiance of whatever this new threat was. "Let's go!"

"Yes Riser-Sama!" They all responded.

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Ajuka looked emotionally drained as he watched the sensor he had taken out explode, as its ability to sense the power of beings such as the Isolationist Shinigami, their so called Reiryoku, was overloaded. It was an expensive and rare device that he had made from scratch, with a little help from an outside scientist.

His eyes flickered over to Serafall who was watching the screen, entranced. Her breathing had quickened, he could see her nipples poking through her shirt, and her tongue flicked over her lips. Well, he was not going to get anything else useful out of her for awhile, but she had mentioned something that had helped settle a few matters and raised more, so he would take what he could get.

She had mentioned that his Pieces were Mutation Pieces, that, as far as Ajuka could tell from her story and he would have to confirm this with the boy himself, he had somehow drawn them in when they had attempted to cancel each other out. Then they had mutated on contact with his power. Oh, and he had been mostly powerless at the time he had been changed, so that explained why it could happen in the first place.

He flicked to a new page as it looked like the light show was dying down and at least he could get a good look at this so-called power of Shikai. Granted every one was supposed to be unique, so seeing one would not help with any other, but still, as a man of science, this would be at least somewhat enlightening.

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Issei felt it, he felt the power of Ichigo Kurosaki, felt the torrent of power unleashed by his words and those words had meant something to the creature in his sacred gear. He could feel it, feel whatever it was in there staring through his eyes at the Rook. "No," It said, "I will not allow it to be yours, this one is mine and his power will be mine." A flare of pain went through his arm and Issei almost went to his knees as something entered his arm, something changed it. He also felt the core of power inside him that had come directly from Ichigo, the power he had been feeding them all he now raised. Everyone, Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, Asia, Buchou, himself, they all had a core of power from him. Whatever he had done had fed that core and whatever was in his sacred gear had reacted violently.

Issei had no idea what was really happening, but he stood firm watching the light begin to die and a figure emerge from the pillar.

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Rias Gremory's heart beat like a drum as she looked upon her changed Rook, his armor had vanished, though something about his skin told her it had not been discarded. He wore a white Shihakusho with a black cloth belted around his middle. Over that he wore a sleeveless Haori which was held together by two crossing gold chains across his torso. His arms were bare save for a white gauntlet on his left arm. It covered his hand in a white fabric which lead to the thicker, armored, portion across his forearm. The odd bulge that had been there before was gone and on the white of the armor was emblazoned the Gremory Rose, set into an odd five pointed cross etched in black. What was most striking though was the horn which apparently had decided to grow out of the side of his head made three sharp turns before straightening to a wickedly sharp point. It looked like it was one of a set, but no it was by itself. Furthermore part of the skin on his face had turned black, running down from his hairline across one of his eyes, which had turned yellow and the sclera had darkened to black, and run down his neck, vanishing into his Shihakusho. Across his back, seemingly held there by nothing, was was a sword about five feet in length. The handle was long enough for two hands and covered in gold cloth, and running almost the full lenght of the blade was a deep white steel which was surrounding a black steel darker than the night sky.

All fell silent as he leaned his head back and let out a breath, her Rook took a moment to reach up and tap his horn, giving it a confused look. There was a flicker across his body lines of blue and a hazy aura just above his skin both of which vanished in a moment "Not what I expected." He chuckled before turning to face her full on. Her chest felt on fire, her heart seemed about to burst as he smiled at her. "Buchou."

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out and it did not help when he moved closer to her, with his strong bare arms exposed for all the world to see. With his confident walk that spoke of a power that did not need to be sensed to be known. His hand came down on her shoulder. "Do you believe me know?" She could only nod as no words would come out. "Then let go of what you think of yourself, believe in the Rias we know you are." Burning tears stained her eyes as she looked over every person whom she called family, Akeno, Asia, Issei, Kiba, Koneko and of course the boy in front of her. The faith, the love, they all stood with her, for her, because they believed she was a person worthy of it. Not her brother, not her family, only because she was who she was.

Rias Gremory let go of it all, her thoughts, fears, issues, the only thing that remained was the knowledge that this family was hers….hers...and she would not allow them to taken, or be hurt because of her. She reached for power and power answered. There was a burning sensation as she did so, right on her lower abdomen just before it reached her crotch. It faded as a wild surge of adrenaline surged through her system. Power built up in her core, pouring out of a place she did not know she had.

She turned her invigorated will upon the surging power, slowing, directing it. For a moment it felt like the sudden surge was going to overwhelm her control, then there was that burn in her lower abdomen and the power slowed in response. She let it flow to the parts of herself that were used to the Power of Destruction, the crimson darkness shrouded her arms like evening gloves flowing up to her shoulder and destroying her sleeves where they touched. Some of the power flowed through her head and out, darkening her crimson hair to black, into the Power of Destruction itself. It still looked like hair, but any glace could tell it was not.

"Wow." Her Rook nodded at her in approval and it felt good. He had been right and right now, she wanted nothing more than for him to right about the rest. To be able to take her future into her own hands and beat the asshole her parents tried to stick her with into next year.

"Don't let it go too far to your head, I doubt your body is used to this, and believe me I made that mistake once and got all my bones cracked for my troubles." Ichigo warned and Rias forced past the adrenaline and noted her body was in some pain and that the spot on her lower abdomen still burned, but it was not that bad yet.

"Got it." She forced the words out in as normal a tone as she could, clenching her first as she sensed Riser's approach. "Get ready," she said, "He is almost here, does anyone have any last questions?"

"Yes." Issei said hesitantly. "Um, what is this?" He held up a vial. "That Bomb Queen dropped it."

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Ravel Phenex was having an odd day. On the one hand she was holding the most adorable familiar ever, her brother was about to arrive and her dress had not been dirtied by the sudden wind. On the other hand she was watching what looked to be two serious powerups, and what looked like a bonding moment for her brother's enemy's peerage. She could almost see morale rise and resolve thicken.

"Dat is the twu Ichigo." Nel said as they looked upon what she assumed was the agent of this change.

"What is?"

"Da one who will give everyding of himself for dos he care about."

"Giving like that is odd for a Devil."

"Itsygo is Itsygo dat is first."

"I see." Ravel tapped her foot on the ground in a nervous tick. What was going on here and what had just changed?

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There were tears in the girl's eyes, but they were not ones of heartbreak, Sona decided. This girl was happy and sad at same time, happy for the boy she clearly loved and had loved a long time. Happy that his power was returned, happy that he had more friends, happy that he was alive, even if he was a Devil. Sad that she been too slow perhaps….

There had been no shock in her eyes as Sona had spoken. Laying out the basics of her world and her boyfriend's part in it. Tsubasa had been the one to break that news to the girl telling her that Ichigo was her boyfriend….and Sona's boyfriend and Sona's sister's boyfriend and Koneko's boyfriend….at the moment. The first part had stung the girl and actually seemed to elicit some shock, but she had made a point to listen to everything first. An odd reaction for a human. She had explained the basics of what changes a new Devil went through, the effects on psychology as she understood them. The group dynamics, of friends, peerages, and even relationships, so to speak.

All this the girl had taken in fairly well. "He has always been like this," Inoue confessed to her, "He attracts people to him, those in need or others like him." Her hand moved over her heart. "It seems I lost my chance to be first." Her eyes flickered with a wavering hope. "But..." her mouth closed and she lowered her head for a moment taking in deep breaths.

Sona steepled her fingers as blue white power filled the screens, her heart soared and Orihime rocked up slightly a blissful expression on her face replacing the sadness. When she spoke her voice felt stronger and more real "To have his power surround you, hold you, protect you, it is an amazing feeling." Sona felt a flare of jealousy at that, but it faded quickly as she gazed on the adoration in the girls eyes. She chose not to answer the girls question yet. "Are you like him? A shinigami?"

"No," she shook her head, "I'm a human, though his power gave birth to my own."

"How did that get you here, why was your power able to do that?"

Sona barely kept a straight face as Orihime casually revealed what her power was and how it worked. Those in her peerage mostly took a step back from her...save Tsubasa and she knew why. Because as much desire as she had for this power to be joined to her family, hearing what it did also filled her with more than a little fear.

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Ichigo watched as Rias leapt from the building to the tennis court, a thin wisp of her power following her feet. It seemed what he had sought to accomplish had worked better than he had hoped. Akeno walked across the roof to his side and he noted her face, it was a strange thing to see her without a smile. "I am not going to ask what went between you and Buchou," the Queen said, "But can you tell me why she did not speak of such things to me."

There was no way he was going to insult her intelligent by lying. "For this one issue, one that you both were going to be affected by. She put up a front because she didn't wish for you to worry, she told me because…" he shrugged "I guess because I knew our victory was never in any doubt."

"Buchou, you baka." That was the first time he had ever heard Akeno say anything negative about their King. Ichigo turned his full attention to her. "I...I thought I was helping her with this burden," Her gaze flickered between several emotions as they watched the rest of the peerage gather to Rias Gremory to get a closer look at her new power. "I'm her Queen, my role is that of advisor and protector...it hurts to think she thought I needed to be shielded from the truth."

"Stress makes people do strange things." Ichigo said

"I know," Akeno whispered, "But." She shook her head. "No, now is not the time." She looked up. "Do you know how close Riser is?"

"They just stopped," he pointed at a storage shed a decent distance away, "Behind that. It would not surprise me if..." Akeno did not let him finish, she raised on hand and the sky boiled. Her expression of calm never changed, but the power she summoned told him her state of mind perfectly. He saw Rias snap her head up, brow furrowed in confusion, before snapping over to the thunderous explosion. Akeno gasped and sagged as the blast took much of her remaining power….Ichigo frowned as he began to sense another well of power, or more like half of her own power remaining in her body unused. It was not like Rias, it was power she could have called up if she wished but she did not...odd.

The smoke of her destructive spell cleared to reveal a vaguely bird-like fire above a huddled group of Devils, Riser Phenex sent an annoyed look their way and when he spoke, his voice, empowered by magic, reached them all. "Now, now, none of that." The bird of fire twisted, gaining more detail. Beside him his bishop held her hand up and green magic that twisted the wind itself fed the construct. "Duel Cast," Both King and Bishop spoke the words together, "True Flame Burst!" As one they hurled it out, the bird twisting until its wings spread and seemed to beat powerfly as it picked up speed and headed straight for Akeno.

Ichigo moved to stand in front raising his hand, but there was a flash of crimson darkness. Rias Gremory hoved before them, her wings formed of the Power of Destruction, she raised her hand and unleashed a burst of darkness. It howled out of her and clashed with the firebird, devouring it's light, it's heat, it's everything. From where he was Ichigo could not see Riser's expression, but he doubted it was one of smug arrogance. Rias raised her hand upward, crimson seals of magic flaring all around her. As dozens of orbs created out of pure Destruction took shape and, with a jerking motion of her arm, they shot out fast with sharp pops. What followed was a torrent of destruction as when each orb impacted it expanded into a sphere around ten feet across before vanishing along with all the matter it had touched. Leaving dozens of holes peppering the area, Risers peerage had done a commendable job of dodging the attacks, but from his vantage point he saw what she had intended. "They are scattered, attack!" Rias ordered her peerage.

Akeno took a breath, but Ichigo stayed her motion with a hand on her shoulder. "If you are going to fight this way, you need to rest."

"Fight what way, Ichigo-Kun?"

"With only half of yourself."

She froze at those words and something in between fear and rage flickered through her eyes. "If you wish," he said, as if he had not seen it, "If you want someone to talk to, I am here. However, take it from someone who knows, repressing part of yourself never ends well."

"Oh," she asked, "And what happened to you?"

"My repressed self became sentient and tried to take over control of my body." Akeno just stared at him, head tilted in confusion. He gave her a lopsided smile. "That example is a little extreme, but true, so take warning Akeno-San." He turned away and took a step, becoming a vanishing blur and then he was on the ground and running. Riser's peerage had been scattered by Rias's assault and at her command they took full advantage and charged.

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The Knight of Gremory moved to whom he felt needed to be taken down. It might very well get him retired, but his target was the Bishop still at Riser's side. She had stayed near her Lord even as Rias had almost taken them out and even now was supporting his fire attacks with her wind spells, feeding her master's power. They were in the air now, as the Power of Destruction met the Flames of the Phoenix as beams of power, power that could ruin buildings and scorch the land asunder. Right now both were throwing their weight around with hardly a care...it must be nice to have that kind of power to spare.

Still, he would not make it obvious, his route taking him closer to a Rook in a green jacket and black jeans. Both pieces of clothing were missing large chunks of cloth, but that looked to have been deliberate. There were metal studded fighting gloves and steel toed boots to complete her slutty biker image, or at least that was what he assumed she was going for. The mask that covered half her face was cool though, he would have to admit it made her look much more intimidating than she would have been without it.

And it seemed she, at least, had bought it as she ripped a bench that had been concreted into the ground skyward and, with a twisting throw, sent it towards him like a spear. He sidestepped, never losing his momentum, feeling some of the object catch and tear at his jacket. He drew on the power of his Sacred Gear, forming the image in his mind, calling the blade he wanted to him. The weapon was the length of his normal blades with an odd opening near the end in which sat a small black sphere. This one he called Replenishing Calm. He swerved around a hurled chunk of concrete and in several steps had reached the Rook. She reacted at once, sending a punch at his head, but this came down to the difference between a Rook and a Knight, he was faster and had better reflexes. He was in motion even as the punch started. As the leap took him over the blow, he planted both of his feet on her head, tensed for a heartbeat then leapt up, pushing down with all his might. He heard a slam as the Rook impacted the ground and he was now hurtling at Riser and his Bishop faster than he could fly.

Just as he expected both saw him, but given that Raiser was busy as a jet of Destruction tore off his arm and he was retaliating with a blast of heat that scorched some of Buchou exposed skin and destroyed her skirt, his Bishop naturally decided to intervene. This part was the real gamble, if she used anything other than the kind of magic she had used to support Riser he was done. But, as her hand raised and green light flared, the air swirled and colessed into a barrier. Kiba Yuuto smiled and with Replenishing Calm pointed at the Bishop's heart hit and pierced it like it was paper, the weapon devouring the wind that sought to defend her. His target hardly had time to cry out before the tip touched her clothing and the system retried her. His wings shot out as he dismissed the Replenishing Calm and summoned the Flame Delete, twisting and slicing as Riser flicked a hand at him and a torrent of flame sough to engulf him.

"Riser Bishop, Retired." Came the voice of the Ultimate Queen.

His sword shattered under the pure power in that flame, but it had defended him and he called another forth from Sword Birth, which was when two arms of Iron closed around him. Riser's Rook had followed him and though she had not been in time to save her fellow Piece she seemed determined to keep him from distracting her Lord. As she twisted she used her arms to close his wings and as one they plummeted down. It felt like a move right out of Naruto or Ultimate Muscle. He struggled for a few heartbeats, but it was useless, she had him right buggered. But, she would not have been able to see the smile on his face as, the moment before they smashed into the ground, he summoned all his power, pouring it into his Sacred Gear and sending it outward. The ground below them erupted with hundreds of swords and the Rook had no chance to see it coming. Kiba closed his eyes and took a breath as the system recognized the danger and both he and his opponent were retired.

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"Riser Rook Retired, Rias Knight Retired."

Kiba had taken down five of Riser's pieces and Issei could only credit himself with one, damn he was really being out-shone here. And to make things even better, he was about to have a two on one fight as two gorgeous cat girls with boxing gloves came at him to ruin his day.

Oh and to make things even better the Dragon in his arm was screaming, and even better it was not at him. "THAT SELF RIGHTEOUS DEAD ABOMINATION OF A GOD! I TOOK MY POWER FAIRLY! YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE SO NEW QUINCY HYBRID, OH SO SPECIAL BOY TOY, THAT IT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO INSULT ME!?" Issei wanted to cover his ears, but it would not have helped. "JUST BECAUSE ONE HAS NO DESIRE FOR THE INFINITE OR THE DREAM DOES NOT MAKE THEM BETTER, DO YOU HEAR ME?! I DROVE OFF HIS CREATOR GOD, THAT'S RIGHT I, ME, THE DRAGON OF DOMINATION YOU SELF RIGHTEOUS PRICK! **"**

"Shut up!" Issei roared in his own head. "Now is not the time."

He almost gulped as the thing in his arm turned is full attention to him, even on a spiritual level the dragon had a hell of a glare. "And just to add insult to injury, his soul infects you even now…" There was a pause and Issei did his best to ignore it as he had seconds before the two devil cat girls were on him.

"Listen to me boy, do you want power? Power to match that hybrid freak, power to crush him?"

"Somehow I doubt you could give me that much power at this very moment."

There was a pause. "That is….correct…..would you like to start at that path?"

Issei did not hesitate. "To have the chance to be at his level, to attract girls like he does, to protect those he loves. Of course I want to be at that level."

The Dragon grumbled in his head, but Issei mad out the words. "Work with what you have Ddraig, not what you want." It was a good thing they were talking through thought because he was almost out of time. "Then, for a promise and a warning, I will grant you great power. I will give all of myself to you, but such power has a price, a sacrifice of something great, but I want something worth that sacrifice and in time you will stand above that brat and the one that will come after." While he wasn't really keen on his gear's sudden obsession with his teacher. Nor was that talk of sacrifice something he had ever considered, and….was he afraid of it?

Then again…."Face forward," he said to himself, "Take no step back."

The Dragon sighed, it was going to have to work hard to undo the damage that the Dead God's new toy had done to his host.

"To retreat is to age, age and you die...die and you can protect no one." He let out a breath. "Give me power." He commanded.

And his gear answered, pain flared through his arm and he felt something change, something fundamental. "Boost!" His gear cried as new knowledge and ideas flooded into his brain. He channeled the power of the boost to his legs and made a jerking side step past the two Pawns. "No fair nyaa!" One of them shouted.

"Boost!" They were on him and Issei reacted as Koneko had taught him to….or beat into him, it was the same thing, and blocked as fists of iron came swinging for his head and groin. "So that was it, just knowledge?" The power of the boost went into his core just before the impact of a punch and he grabbed the girl by her arm and twisted his body to throw her over his shoulder. His other hand shot out to press his spell on her butt as the girl's twin slammed into his side causing the blow to miss. It did not really hurt at all compared to Koneko's attentions.

"Your body had been admirably prepared perhaps the one good thing that bastered did," the dragon said in his mind, "Only thirty seconds is required." The green gem began to show numbers a thirty counting down by seconds.

Issei gulped as the knowledge that he could no longer use boost flooded his head. He twisted away from a fist and struck out hard. But the girl took it like the boxer she was and rode the blow, giving an opening for her sister to strike him hard in the ribs. Issei took a risk and went into the punch letting it hit him before the girl was ready and wrapping his arms around the catgirl. The feeling of her warm skin and excellent oppai pressing into him almost managed to make him forget his plan. But he turned with her, using her body as a shield against her sister. When the girl paused he shoved with all his might and to his surprise the girl was flung off her feet into the air and into her twin with enough force to send them tumbling.

Issei let out a slightly pained gasp of triumph and glanced at his arm, the seconds ticked down at when they hit zero, he spoke. He spoke without thought, without meaning to. "Welsh Dragon Overbooster!" The green gem flashed red as his demonic power boiled inside him.

The Dragon then spoke to all through the Gear. "Balance Breaker, Scale Mail!" Power from the Gear consumed him, shrouding him in light that solidified into red armor plates. It moved over his whole body, armoring every part of him including his head as it was encased by crimson steel with large emerald gemstones for eyes. "This is the Welsh Dragon Armor!" the dragon roared. And the threat was not aimed at his starring opponents, but it seemed Ichigo Kurosaki was not concerned.

Good thing Issei still felt himself in control, and he moved at his opponents….and moved way faster than he had been anticipating. So it was more by accident than intent that his armored knee slammed into the face red haired catgirl. He heard a crunch before her body vanished in a flash of light drawing a cry of distress from her sister. Issei whirled to face her and had the odd experience of her seeming to move much slower than she had been. Under the fearsome helmet Issei began to smile, the other cat girl hit him with a barrage of punches that did not even register as pain...for him at least. The Devil he was fighting fell back, shaking her gloved hands. Issei took a step forward, this time more prepared for his speed, and shoved his palm into her chest. He regretted for a moment that his hand was armored because he did not get the pleasure of touching a bare chest….which probably was as close to a boob as he was ever going to get. She flew back his mark glowing on her body, "Nyaa!" The girl screamed as the spell shredded her clothing, causing her lovely knockers to bounce around freely. His mind filed that image away for later. He tensed and jumped after the Devil and this time when his hand impacted her head it was on purpose. There was the flare of light and she was gone and Issei felt a surge of accomplishment at something that had truly been all him. The best part...he had not even used this thing's greatest power in this armored form. With a nod he turned away from where his fight and been and moved off to support his Buchou.

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Koneko felt that she was in trouble, fate, it seemed, wanted to deal her a bad hand as both of Riser's Knights approached her. One of the women had brown hair tied with a headband. Her outfit was an odd cross between European chest plate, gauntlets and greaves. But she had the extra hip plates and shoulder guards of a samurai. At her hip was a dagger with a gold hilt and in her hands was a broadsword held at the guard.

The other Knight had a much more serious countience, she, like the Rook Koneko had beaten before, wore a cheongsam that, while it did have quite the cleavage window, this girl was at least wearing shorts under it, unlike that streaker. She had done something odd with her black hair, a golden band tied like it was for a topknot, but allowed her long hair to split into five ponytails. The only armor she wore was a matching set of boots and gauntlets . But in her hands was truly huge sword called a Zweihander. Koneko knew this because Kiba was sword freak and had explained to her different blade types a couple of times.

"She mine Siris," the brown haired one said with a smile on her face and flames began to lick along the edge of her blade, "She the one who took down Xuelan and I will avenge our sister."

"No Karlamine," The other one replied in a patient tone, "Our orders are clear, take down as many of them as we can so they do not trouble Lord Riser." Her body tensed. "Nowhere did he say that you could indulge in your stupid code."

"My code is not stupid, it is honorable."

"Then, at least, it should have Riser's orders coming before it." Siris said.

There was a pause from the other Knight then a sigh. "You're right." She smiled at Koneko. "Don't worry, flaty, we will put you out of your misery." Koneko bristled, her hair standing on end and she had to hold back the urge to hiss at them. Both Knights took a step forward, then stopped as the air stirred beside her and a hand came down on her head.

"At the risk of sounding like Issei, I think her chest outdoes both of yours, combined." The hand...his hand on her head turned down her annoyance to zero as her body tensed up for a very different reason. It took all she had not to purr as the fingers moved gently through her hair the way she liked. Something that would have felt even better if her other ears… she cut off that thought and refocused on the battle as best she could.

"Oh, oh," The brown haired knight jumped up and down, "I get big, tall and handsome." Aaaand her annoyance flared back in full force.

The other Knight let out a sigh. "I'm telling Riser you said that after this is over."

"Bite me, I'm still mad he used Marion, Burent and Shuriya as bait for a failed scheme."

"You and your honor." Siris shrugged. "Fine, Karlamine, you can have him, I'll retire the Rook."

His hand moved to her shoulder and he gave her a half smile, it set well against his bright orange hair. "Lets go."

Koneko raised her arms to defence, not that she would block that sword unless she had to, given that she lacked any armor of her own, something that annoyed her right now more than ever. "Hey, your name is Ichigo, right?" Out of the corner of her eye she saw her boyfriend nod. Karlamine giggled. "Ok Strawberry, can we move this fight away from here? I don't want to get in each other's way or be tempted to intervene."

"Karla!" Siris hissed.

"Sounds good to me." He put his hand on her head one more time and it felt like heat was flowing into her and stopping at the worst places right now. "Kick her Ass, k?"

"Ok." She replied as her boyfriend moved off to his fight. There was a moment of distraction that almost cost her as she watched him leave. The Knight moving at Knight-speed leapt at her in that moment of distraction, her blade moving to cut her in half. Perhaps if Koneko had not been spending a great deal of time in two on ones against her her boyfriend it might have worked, but she had grown used to dealing with speed.

Almost doing the splits, she went under the swing followed by coming up with a kick. Her opponent met it with a twist of her sword and using the flat of the blade as a shield, it's weight only letting Koneko's blow push her back a few feet. Siris kicked her blade with the side of her foot and twisted, using the momentum to slash the air in front of her. The sudden blast of wind that slammed into her, cutting her shirt to ribbons and cutting her skin in several places was a surprise. Koenko had to throw herself to the side as a second blast was launching and hit the ground in a roll. Coming up and leaping forward just before the Knight's sword slammed the ground where she had landed. Within the next heartbeat the Knight was on her, the speed of her class so much faster than Koneko's own.

Koneko twisted to the side to avoid a thrust and attempted a counter attack that Siris twisted away from and caught it on her gauntlet, leaving a nice indentation of her small fist, but no real damage. The Knight moved in a blur around her attempting to confuse and mislead her eyes and senses. This sort of attack had been the very thing she and Kiba had worked on in training, given the numbers disadvantage they had to expect this very matchup. The attack came and she jumped, twisting her body as the blade passed under her and bringing her foot down. But the Knight had moved and the only thing that broke was the earth her heel slammed into. Dust erupted into the air and Koneko crossed her arms in preparation as a blast from the sword slammed into her, laceing several more cuts along her arms, but her core remained safe. Then the Knight was in front of her, using the huge sword as if it was a blade much lighter...still, it was better than if she had a smaller blade. Koneko swayed under the barrage, avoiding each blow with as little movement as she could manage and not always quite succeeding, as a slice of skin fell off her arm. She threw herself into a backward roll and the Knight was on her almost before she regained her feet. Not able to block she did what the motion had been intended for and hurled her hand, full of dirt, right into her opponent's face.

The knight let out a hiss of pain and the blow went wide, Koneko stepped inside her guard and slammed a punch at her midsection, blasting the Knight away, but to her disappointment not retiring her. Still, pressing her advantage, she rushed at her fallen foe only to have the girl roll to her feet and, though she spat up blood, her blade swept up and Koneko took the blast of the sword full on, lifting her into the air for another blow that slammed into her side, the windforce agonizing. She slammed into the ground, wondering for a moment why she had not been retired or her opponent had not finished the job. Turning her head up she saw the Knight rubbing the last of the dirt out of her eyes. With a snarl Koneko rose to her feet, uncaring that she was basically standing there, cut up, bruised and wearing only a pair of pink striped panties and her shoes. The rest of her garments had been utterly destroyed and she did not have the power to spare in creating new ones. She took a lesson from her boyfriend and tossed her aversion to nudity out the window for the duration of this battle.

The Knight glared at her once her eyes were clear then her head nodded, in respect, Koneko guessed that, had the Knight been in her state, she might not have been as willing to continue. Siris did not say any words to her as she charged, so Koenko narrowed her eyes and waited. She had no plans to lose by herself, her Boyfriend had told her win and that was what she going to do, her King had told her to win and that was what she was going to do….but most of all she had told herself to win and that was what she was going to fucking do.

Something in her abodmon began to burn, and an odd feeling flooded her body, she glanced down for heartbeat and in that moment her attacker slowed as something began glowing. The light came just above her panties on the skin of her lower abdomen. The blue light resolved itself into a five pointed symbol held in a circle. Energy seemed to buzz just under her skin, her Devil Power shifting as a new way of usage was granted to it. The Knight was on her then, the blade swinging to cut at her neck. Her arm came up almost on its own and the blade slashed into it….slashed into it and stopped a quarter of an inch in. Her right arm was ablaze with the blue symbol, though a Gremory Rose glowed black and ominous, twisting up her arm as well, like some sort of tribal tattoo.

While the Knight had a moment of surprise, Koneko reacted. Her arm came down, twisting the wound jaggedly as she tore herself off it, grabbing the sword itself by the edge. The glowing tattoo like things on her arm protected her from the edge as she jerked the Knight forward, her left hand clenched into a fist. The symbols on her arm vanished from her right and appeared on her left though, unlike when she had been defending, the tattoo had coalesced around her fist and wrist. Black vines twisting to hide all her pale skin, the odd symbol and Gremory Rose emblazoned on the back of her hand. The impact caused an explosion that cracked the ground all around her and shrouded her in a bright red light. When it cleared her opponent was gone and to punctuate that the Voice of the Ultimate Queen announced the defeat of Riser's Knight. The burning stopped as the mark on her abdomen vanished, along with tattoo on her hand and wrist.

She felt very odd, she knew she should be exhausted but her Devil Power seemed, while not in top shape, still stronger than she would have believed. Letting a little of her embarrassment get the best of her she used some of it to form new clothing for her to wear. Turning, she began to move, not to her Boyfriend where she wanted to go, she had no doubt he would beat that floozy, but decided that her King was the one who might need her help more. She was more than a little surprised to find herself running beside Issei in a rather dashing looking set of red armor….neat. But, instead of wondering what happened to him, she spent her time on the more important matter of what the hell had happened to her.

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"This is far enough, I think." Karlamine said once they were a decent distance away from the rest of the fighting.

"You know, despite what you said to your friend over there, I can't help but thinking this is done to distract me as much as follow your honor."

The Knight laughed. "Well spotted, Rook of Gremory." Her sword glowed with flame. "I do love my King you know, even if he is an ass sometimes. If I can follow my code and his orders, then I will do that."

Ichigo shrugged. "I wonder what he does to inspire that in you, he is just a monster you know."

Her eyes narrowed. "He is not."

"I think anyone can safely call a rapist that." He responded evenly.

"He is not that, you peasant!" It seemed he had struck a nerve. "I hate the psychology of warfare and how it is exploited, but that is why he is the Lord and I am the Knight, such tactics are for him and not for me."

Ichigo frowned at her. "Tactic?"

"Yes, tactic you witless baboon, do you really think he would dare rape the sister of a fucking Maou, what kind of moron would do that?"

"...But Rias is afraid he would..."

"That, peasant is the point, desperate people are dangerous, but they do not fight at their best."

The Hybrid let out a long sigh, the point was well made and it was possible this was the case. After all, what did he know about Riser Phenex beyond his one interaction….At the very least it would bare investigation, perhaps Levi-Tan the diplomat would have some idea. "Well, I will act as if his words are true until proven otherwise."

"It would not matter to you because I will end you here!" She moved at him in a blur of speed, the blade chopping at his neck. Taking a backward step and tilting his head the blow went past him harmlessly. Matching her speed, his hands empty and open, he avoided a flurry of blows with a causal ease. He was so much more powerful in Shikai, stronger than he had been the last time he had been in that form.

Karlamine's blade blazed in sudden furious heat, but his skin seemed inured to that pain and he kept staying one step ahead of her weapon, mostly to piss her off. He did not care about the peasant or the baboon insult, but the strawberry one still ticked a nerve. The Knight began to move at a reckless speed and did not notice him sidestep and stick his foot out. It caught her unarmored ankle and she went ass over teakettle along the courtyard. Still, in an impressive display of control, or a reckless anger she came up, slamming her sword into the ground and drawing her dagger. Air and fire danced along its short blade as she hurled a spinning torrent of fire at his person. Ichigo held up his left arm and his wrist guard glowed. The blue five pointed cross of the Quincy manifested before him large enough to cover his whole body and the magical fire slammed into it and was halted, with only a little effort on his part. He held it for a good twenty seconds before the blaze died down to reveal a sweating Knight.

"Oh, that's not good." she said, before straightening herself and picking up her broadsword in her right and holding the dagger in her left. "Oh well, I'm here to have fun anyway." She flashed him a winning smile. "Have at thee!" And charged.

It was kind of impressive he noted as he reached back and drew his sword. The Knight flashed a smile of delight and seemed to pore the rest of her power into her blades as they blazed with a deep red flame. Ichigo raised his hand and let the blade crash into it. The weapon chimed loudly and shattered into pieces as it met his Hierro (Steel Skin) and the dagger drew a line across his chest with the sound of squealing metal causing no damage. He raised Zangetsu as he was shrouded in the power of his Hollow his other eye flickering yellow. "My turn." He replied and brought his weapon down.

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The battle stopped for a moment as an explosion of dust erupted a hundred feet in the air, followed by half of the school building simply imploding, flying apart with splinters of wood blasting over the empty area. There was a moment of silence before the Ultimate Queen said. "Raiser's last Knight retired."

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"Was that just brute strength?" Sirzech asked looking at the screen.

"Oh yes," Serafall purred, "I think it was."

That brought a smile to the Maou's face. "You seem to have chosen well, this object of your affections." Serafall flashed him a smile.

"Can we go back to the part where he claimed to have invaded Soul Society?" Akuja said, ignoring the screen. "There are at least ten things wrong with that statement, starting with why the hell all his opponents seemed to take him on one at a time."

"I don't know," Serafall said, "They could just be stupid."

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Rias Gremory hovered before her enemy and smiled. "That's the last of your peerage, _dear_." the last word was said with such biting sarcasm that her opponent applauded.

"Yes, and well done to you for that, I severely underestimated everything about this event." He laughed. "But I'm still here and that is the most important part." The fire around his hands began to conjure into what looked like hand axes. "Cause you see, I just have to take you out to win, my darling."

Her body felt tense as her new power still flooded out from whatever part of her it had been hiding in. She would have been overwhelmed several times, but that odd burning sensation in her abdomen had flared and slowed the release. Even so, she could feel it affecting her body, like a weight slowly growing as her body attempted to keep normal function. Right now, in this place, at this time, her body was simply not up to the task of using her new power to the fullest extent. She knew she could pull it back into herself, but if that happened she was done for. So she fought, fought because she knew she finally had a chance. Her arms clad in the Power of Destruction tensed, her aura flared in time with her enemy and flame clashed with darkness, the odd green skies flicking with their colors. They clashed with enough force to crack the earth far below them as their power discharged in a blast of power and heat.

His face beamed in triumph as he brought his flame weapons down in a brutal cross chop. She blocked them with her arms, clothed as they were in the Power of Destruction, the flames were devoured as they touched. Riser must have not expected that as Rias set herself as she had been taught and punched using the whole of her body to power the attack. It united with the power cloaking her arm as she punched into and through her opponent. The Power of Destruction ate a hole in his chest about a foot wide as he jerked back. Fire flaring into the hole she had made, knitting him whole.

Rias gave him no time, blasting a torrent of power at him, forcing the man to respond in kind, the clashing powers causing the very air to boil. She winced as the pain pressing in on her body increased. She raised a hand, conjuring a barrage of energy bolts, some of which hit her target, but they healed just as fast as they had been caused. She twisted into a dive to avoid the return barrage of fireballs. She drew on the power coursing through her like a flood and leveled out just before she slammed into the ground. She twisted the course of her flight in an S shape, doding between blasts of fire before twisting so she was facing up, with one hand she blocked the bolt of fire, the destruction coating her arm absorbing the flame, and with her other hand she let loose a blast, drawing more of her power from her to lessen the strain. Above her Riser lost half of his body, forcing him to put more power into healing it.

Rias shot upward, hurling several bolts ahead of her making him dodge, throwing her power out like it was endless because that was what it felt like right now. No matter how much she used, more poured out and with every second the pain in her body built. With a howl she closed the distance between them and loosed all the power she could in an explosion centered on her body. But still, Riser endured. She watched as he fell, his body being reborn in fire and loosed a beam after him. Her enemy twisted in the air becoming a blur of fire that conjured into a lance in his hand, one he hurled at her and it slammed into her midsection.

Strangely the pain it caused was almost a relief, something else to focus on and she crossed her arms, the Power of Destruction forming a shield, devouring the fire sent at her. She heard rather than saw movement and her ten day camp on hand to hand came in handy. Her wings tucked in and she dropped a heartbeat before a sword of fire would have cut her in half. Riser followed up on the attack, dropping to match her speed. "Dodge if you can, Block if you can't, if neither are available close the distance, reduce the power of the blow." Those had been his words and she followed them, her wings spreading out, halting her fall just as Riser swung again. Their bodies touched, or rather crashed into each other, the fire burning her side, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and channelled Ruin through them. It was the first time she had heard him scream as she lit his body on metaphorical fire with her power. His own hands burned like fire pokers, but she endured the agony, the pain of his scorching hands on her a distant second to the crackling of her bones. She held on with all her might, her body a mere channel for ruin, burning her foe with everything she had.

They slammed to earth and her grip loosened. Riser, using all of his considerable strength to break free and scrambled away from as if she was Hades himself. Putting a hand to the ground she forced herself up and almost collapsed as a new wave of pain almost blacked her out. Riser for his part did not look much better, her last little stunt had required a considerable bit of power from him to heal. "Fuck Rias," He gasped, stumbling a little, "You are insane." Oddly it sounded like he was complimenting her. With a bow he took a vile out of his pocket, as he revealed the second Phoenix Tear, the last one his team could have under the rules. "Well fucking done, my lady." he said and drank.

Rias reached into her pocket and pulled out the stolen one, tilting it back herself. It's power was like Nirvana as it gave her a blessed moment of relief. But it was only a stopgap measure, her body reset to zero, but more power was still oozing from her and building. She would not have much more time like this, but on the bright side if it killed her she would not have to marry this piece of shit….everything had an upside.

"You still don't look so good." He taunted though she noted him taking several steps back, the Phoenix Tears only healed injury, they did not restore power which was good. However he looked like he was about to take this a lot more carefully while her own time ticked away under the pressure of her own power.

She launched herself at him and the man turned tail and ran, or rather flew. She hurled bolts at him like they were going out of style, breaking buildings, rending earth to nothing, but he seemed to be getting faster, or rather she was getting slower. Rias reached out an arm channeling power though it, her open palm, blackened by Ruin, began to hum. Abruptly the air began to move towards it, sucked in by some Vacuum like effect. This was a trait of the Power of Ruin, her brother could create black hole-like effects. But she did not know the spell for that yet or even how to really imagine it correctly. But this came naturally...perhaps instinctually would have been a better term. All it required was power for effect and power she had in spades right now. The look of panic on Riser's face was delicious as he was slowed, then stopped, then started to be drawn back to her.

He turned to face her, hurling several controlled blasts of fire that were drawn off their path and into her palm where they were destroyed, down to the very atoms. Something cracked in her leg and she fell to one knee, but still held herself up, closer and closer he was drawn, a rib cracked, she bit back a curse. With a final howl she pulled him to her, the man conjuring weapons of flame, but this close to her spell they were just sucked in. His chest slammed into her palm and he screamed, which was when she punched him in the chin, obliterating his head and most of his upper body and sending the legs flying back to slam into the ground and roll along it.

She fell to her knees as her other leg cracked, waiting to hear the words of sweet release, but no, the Ultimate Queen did not announce Riser's retirement. The fucker was growing back even now, his bare chest reforming. Rias screamed as her back became a mass of pain, the Power of Ruin beginning to seep from her skin like smoke. Riser's head reformed and when he looked at her his eyes were filled with a terror she had never seen in him before. But one look at her state seemed to set his spine as he slowly ever so slowly got to his feet.

No, she would not let this end, not when she had come so close, freedom that she could almost touch. She ordered herself to stand, her body tried to follow, as more parts of her cracked, but it did not matter. The pain was nothing compared to the thought of what loss would entail, she almost let out a wail as her body got to its feet.

Riser faced her down only a small dagger of fire in his hand, with slow steps he began to move forward. Her arms twitched, but would not rise, her breathing had been pain before but it became agony. This was not how it would go, this could not be how it would end…..her vision began to fade….fade...fade…

" **A little help for you, I think.** " A familiar girl's voice said.

Her eyes snapped open.

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Riser froze in mid step, for a moment he thought his opponent was going to collapse right there. There had been a heartbeat where her eyes had closed and her body had swayed. Then she opened them and he found himself staring into yellow eyes with the sclera darked to pitch back. The Power of Destruction she had clad herself in roiled like a living thing, bands of it spreading from her arms and hair, wrapping around her body. It destroyed her clothing where it touched but that did not seem to bother her. His chest did a sticking flip as he watched a cleary broken arm be effectively tied back together and held in place.

The fucking girl was literally holding herself together with the Power of Ruin, and she was only getting stronger or at least her power was only rising. He glanced down at the dagger in his hand then back up at the terror that he was supposed to marry. Hell's Bells if not for the honor of his family he would abdicate right here, this beast of a woman was clearly not worth it.

Still….honor had its cost. He stopped, letting go of the dagger and calling all the Devil Power in his body, he held nothing back, pulling it to his hands, drawing more and more, shaping it into his last attack.

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Ichigo made to move as she began to fall, the power of his Getsuga Tenshou at full strength, his arms raised to deliver the final blow before Rias could collapse. " **Wait,** " His hollow said, " **She has this.** "

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Whatever she had done it felt worse than anything she had ever felt, like her whole body was on fire, but she could move. Her hand came up and began to gather power in response to her opponent. As she did so, something clicked in her head, a way, a method of gathering power, where it came from, she did not know. Hell, with how easy it seemed, it was almost like she had known how to do it her entire life. The Power of Ruin began to twist and compress forming a perfect sphere that seemed to drink in all the energy she had to offer.

She watched Riser cross his arms and let out a cry as a fire in the shape of his family namesake erupted from him and sped towards her. The thing was as big as as truck, matter within fifty feet no matter what it was began to burn, the ground under it was glassed as if it had touched plasma.

No more time she let loose her attack and a word that she did not know, but felt absolutely right came from her lips. "Cero La Ruina!" Her words became a scream, echoing into the orb of power before her and the sound was echoed in the very power of the attack, becoming part of it as much as the very essence of Ruin itself.

The land before her vanished in crimson darkness, the Phoenix of Flame swallowed by it's black depths, Riser, the building behind him, the land behind that all vanished under the power of her attack. A vast and terrible silence seemed to fill the land of the Rating Game as the energy faded along with the scream.

Rias blinked and found herself alone sanding under the green sky, naked as the day she was born and staring at the destruction she had just unleashed. "Riser Retired." The words were like an orgasm to her ears. She glanced down at the burning on her abdomen looking upon the odd five pointed cross a heartbeat before it faded, taking her power with it. She had a blessed moment free of pain and fell back….fell back into strong arms as a Haori was draped across her, to give her modesty, to protect her. She stared up at the man who had believed that she could do this, that she could accomplish this feat. Because now her future was her own. "I knew you could do it." He said.

Rias did not feel like speaking as a spasm of pain went though her, nowhere near as bad as what had happened to her before. Plus, she could see Asia making her way to them with her lovely power of healing and the rest of her Peerage still active. All of them who had made this possible, all of whom had given her so much. Never before had her love for them been so great as this moment, she smiled at them and blood dribbled from her lips.

With one last effort she turned her head, pressing it into Ichigo Kurosaki's chest, letting his heat soothe her aching body. She closed her eyes as Asia's power began to do its work, it felt good, sooo good, she almost did not realise she drifted off as her eyes closed and she let herself fall into blackness.

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 **Ok so before you come at me with torches and pitchforks let me explain myself (I Know I deserve it) , I like doing different things and as I set up in the past few chapters I wanted Rias to be the one who takes her freedom and grows because of it. Ichigo was the catalyst and I did give a glimpse of his powers. As one might guess from his looks and his ability to use an Arrancar technique his power had shifted to draw out more of his hollow (And thus true Shinigami Power) with Zangetsu as an active participant.**

 **Now about his look, in my mind his armor in his sealed state was always meant to be a representation of (Steel Skin) and in his released state his skin has become his armor. Now onto the most important part, me using his cannon bankai state as a Shikai(or in my case part of it, I did change the clothing and put gold cloth around the blade).**

 **The reason for this is a little complicated, when I first saw it in the manga I did not like it at all, it looked incomplete though I guess the Author was going for a balanced look. But to me it never looked like Ichigo's Bankai (and considering how fast it was destroyed it had not time to grow on me….man I did not like the ending of bleach) But as I was planning this story I found my thinking changed when I thought of using it as a Shikai. I found that if I thought of it in that way I loved it. That it looked really cool as long as it was not his bankai.**

 **So anyway his state of power is not comparable to his endgame strength, this was just an aesthetic choice on my part. Now I have to deal with a character with steel skin and Blut and rook toughness and two mutation pieces….Ichigo is now one tough ass Mother****** at this point.**

 **But before you all kill me I will let you know Ichigo will have his own battle where he can test his power against a better opponent within the next few chapters (It will not be kokabiel, it is time for Sona and her peerage to have an arc with him, though that is a chapter or two away as well)**

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 **Now onto the the Comments of the Week**

 **Guest**

 **That's a long ass release phrase...if he were fighting his regular (bleach) enemies, he would have been cut down before he can finish the first sentence. The only saving grace is that with enough mastery of his zanpakutou he can release his shikai/bankai with a thought.**

 **(Ya it is long winded but you don't have to be standing still while you say it lol but you are right is a weakness)**

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 **Reven 1989**

 **Thats why I will talk about something that I don't understand: How does Ajuka know that Ichigo is a shinigami? None of the others seem to know what a shingami is. Did he have contact with one? Perhaps an exiled genius? The hogyoku and the evil pieces have enough similaritys that they could have exchanged ideas...**

 **(A few people posted comments about this and Serafall, back on her and Sona's first date I implied she knew more but was letting herself hear Ichigo's story without questions. The Maou are all aware of the Shinigami much like all the other High ranking gods/ Higher ups of other factions. But it is in the we have records and we have heard stories. I will expand on this in story as to why this is but that will come later)**

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 **Accursius**

 **Once can write the powers of Inoue in such a creepy and eldritch fashion - and I absolutely dig it if that happens - bravo! This casual rejection of what should be possible in the verse fits her personality wonderfully and I never get why authors let her fall to the roadside when she can be hella fun. Chad and Tatsuki too actually, I mean they are crazy but that makes them good characters. So, can she reject a peerage piece within a person? Another point on Inoue, while her feelings might have changed since then, back when Ichigo was still fighting the monster of the week, Inoue and Rukia had a talk over lunch and Inoue straight out asked her if she had a thing for Ichigo and when Rukia answered negatively Inoue was dejected said something about "numerical superiority" or "double teaming" him. So yeah, this ditz likely has no problems sharing him.**

 **(When I was younger I kind of disliked her as a character but she has a way of growing on you. Plus love her powers and how much creepy and surprise they can bring, hell by willpower alone she can undo just about anything, phenomena, events, and as I had her do the freaking space between two points. Now there was a link she could follow so that helped but her power has a lot of interesting uses if you just take what she can do at face value. For a slight spoiler what she did to get to that rating space freaked out about six different deities (Mostly one with travel based domains or just really powerful) and they have no idea what caused it lol.)**

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 **Plums**

 **Not quite understanding why you insisted on bringing Nel out there and then endangering her by sticking her near Ravel. Its basically screaming for Riser to see her, attack her, and then for Ichigo to lose himself and then slaughter everyone. As much as I'd like to see Nel get attacked and resume her normal form and make everyone's mouth drop, right now the true logical thing would be for Ichigo to then go absolutely bonkers and kill them all.**

 **(One she is a tumpe card filled with Ichigo's power thus supplying her with the strength she need to transform. It was not needed in this fight but I wanted to show that Ichigo had learned to plan. Two that girl is tougher than most of the devils on that field, and three given that he can just call her to his side he is confident in his ability to keep her safe)**

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 _ **Fav Comment**_

 **Hollowichigo12**

 **Nel was adorable in this chapter and I loved how even Ravel could not ignore her adorableness. Looking forward to seeing how a good chunk of people react to seeing Nel in her adult form. I do look forward to the reunion between Orihime and Nel. Ravel is an interesting character and I like her so far.**

 **(Lol Only Nel is simultaneously the cutest child and the hottlest adult in bleach...it is quite a superpower from which no one is safe.)**

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 **Lastly thanks to all who gave feedback on the release aria what I got seems to be about fifty fifty in positive and negative which works because it is how I feel about it. The words were just something I kept changing and changing again and I had to put something out there eventually and I am a glass half full person.**

 **I hope you all have a good day and that you enjoyed.**

 **Fanboy913**


	23. Chapter 22

**Oh boy this chapter is a long one, but that is what I get for having a lot of characters in the same place.**

 **Big thanks to Aroneden for going over every page and picking out the mistakes I missed.**

 **Hope you all enjoy.**

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Serafall noted that when Sirzech's hand left its spot on his chair, the imprint of his grip was left behind. The expression on his face was perhaps the most complicated she had ever seen. It seemed that odd things came in groups these days, Ajuka and Sirzech had been born with immense power. Both had been called aberrations, so called Super Devils, due to that fact, as far as she was aware the only three Super Devils born were male. She was the odd man out, so to speak, as she had gained her status as one of that group through...well, she was not sure how exactly.

The threat against her family, against her sister, in that place, at that time, exhausted and facing down a creature she had no chance to beat. And those words that had been spoken to her, that had threatened her Sona, had broken something in her and the power that had come with it had been enough for her to triumph. She had that title to herself, at least, the only one to have killed one of the original Four Maou in combat. Now, before their eyes, Rias Gremory had awakened to their number, she second woman, the second not born into it. That was telling, perhaps a difference in how the gender of Devil kind worked? Or just a fluke?

Granted, she was being a little bit arrogant in that comparison, all three of the other Maou were older than her, more experienced, and had more time to grow their power. Even though she was a Maou she was the least in terms of raw power, something she worked on, in her spare time, to rectify.

Well, that had been quite the drift in her thoughts. All of this did not matter, because the girl's body had not been ready to handle it, she had not had a body hardened by war and conflict so terrible that it had forced the ones who survived to become hard and stronger or die...it was a fact that Ichigo Kurosaki understood well.

"How is my sister doing?" Sirzech asked mildly.

Akuja moved a finger and one of the screens flickered before resolving into Rias Gremory's vitals. "A great deal of cracked bones, some internal damage to her lungs, and of course magical overuse." There was a pause. "The Twilight Healing is starting to take care of the worst," He let out a sigh, "A new Super Devil, that's just great. And she is going to need a great deal of training if she wants to use that power without tearing herself apart."

Grayfia put a light hand on her husband's shoulder and he took several calming breaths. Serafall smiled at the sight, remembering a time, several hundred years ago, when that had filled her with jealousy and envy. How things changed, she thought, as her eyes went back to the screen, the Gremory group was being drawn out of the Rating space, the Gremory Heiress safely in her shared boyfriend's grasp. "Grayfia, I believe there is a lot needed to be discussed." He glanced at all of them. "With the permission of you two, I plan to teleport all of us here and both Peerages to the Gremory Estate, I have already gained permission from my father."

"That would be appreciated," Akuja cracked his neck, his smile a mix of scientific glee and world shattering annoyance, "I have found someone I really need to speak to."

"Sounds like fun, I have not seen Aunt Venelana in a long time." Serafall chimed.

"You know she hates it when you call her that?"

Serafall stuck her tongue out. "Well, she was like an aunt to me in the very short childhood I was afforded." The moment the words left her mouth she regretted them, as both of her friends winced. "She should be grateful I don't call her Baa-chan."

"I think my mother would find a way to kill you if you did that." There it was, a smile on his face, one to drain away the wrath seething beneath his eyes. Grayfia gave her a subtle nod of appreciation.

"Hmm, your right," she conceded, "I won't do that."

"Good." He nodded at his wife as they joined their power.

Teleportation from the mortal world to the Underworld was not something to be done unless you had immense amounts of power to spare. Crossing the Dimensional Gap was something most did via the several Underworld Rail systems. But the highest class of Devil's could take the shortcut, so just about every head of a house, and perhaps a few others right under them, could.

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Sona looked away from the screen as the fight ended, eyeing the mortal sitting beside her, and she made sure her face was kept neutral. This woman was a piece of such value and the right price was covered by her remaining knight so it was hard to keep her instincts in check. The girl had been thinking upon the offer she had just been given and what she might want for that. Sona took it as a good sign that Inoue had not rejected the offer out of hand.

The girl had a peaceful expression as she looked upon a boy she must have loved for a long time. Sona could see it and could feel the jealousy in her system flare in response. The feeling no longer really had any effect when she thought of Tsubasa, Koneko, or her Sister, the bonds they shared with the object of their affection and he with them were starting to affect the others in their relationship as well.

Just like a group dynamic chart it had started with one forming bonds with many and as time progressed they were forming bonds inside the group. It did not matter what kind of Devil group was formed, friends, lovers, Peerage, or what they were in. It was their nature to bond with those in the group, even if neither she nor Tsubasa had any interest in women, for example. But, as they spent more time in the context of a romantic pursuit, both had started to notice a minor attraction starting to manifest between them and Koneko.

It was the way of things in such a situation as their nature soothed and eased the way for the creation of the strongest group. Right now that attraction of the purely physical type, the sort of idea that 'it was ok if it was you' trope.

All in all it meant that jealousy was not very strong between them and becoming less so all the time, but, for example, the way Asia was acting triggered the emotion, the way her boyfriend held her best friend's almost naked body triggered it and this girl did as well.

"So you want me as your servant, that's the right word, yes?" Sona nodded, her full attention on this girl. "And if it is in your power you will give me what I ask for in return?"

"I will allow myself to say no, but you can ask."

Inoue Orihime closed her eyes in thought. "Oh, this is so complicated." Her smile became wan. "Not what one expects to happen."

"You do not have to make your decision now," Sona cautioned, "I understand if you..." She paused as her Sister contacted her through their link and then blinked in surprise. Turning to her Peerage she spoke. "It seems we are invited to the house of Gremory, along with my rival's Peerage." Her people looked taken aback. "There is no time for proper dress, but I expect you all to be perfect gentlepeople with my family's allies. Go over your manners in your head and practice, we do not have long." She turned back to Orihime. "I need to take you back to the school or my house in Japan, you are not part of my Peerage and I am not going to throw you into the deep end without that protection."

Inoue blinked. "But, I came all this way to see him, I want to go with you."

Sona hesitated, seeing an opening but refusing to take it. "I can't, I don't have permission and you are a human." 'Plus tempting bait for anyone wanting a new piece down there.' she added in her thoughts.

The girl turned back to the screen and Sona waited. The girl looked at Sona's boyfriend with an intensity that both made her hackles rise and, with a certain understanding, amused her. Tsubasa looked to be going through the same emotions. "Like I said, I need to get you to a safe place now and I..." The girl leaned over to her and whispered something in her ear and pulled away, her face red hot.

"Is that something you can do?" Orihime asked.

Sona only had to war with herself a moment before she answered. While it seemed like a sacrifice right now, in time, if anything came of it, that would fade. It was the way things were and her power was far, far too much to let slip by. That was her greed talking, but under these circumstances it was the right path.

"Yes, I will help you."

Inoue seemed to sag from the release of nervous energy as doubts warred with hope. Sona was impressed that this girl was able to speak her mind and desires so. "Later, I will give you a full explanation of what is going on and what will happen if you follow though." She held out her Knight Piece. "You can still back out, I am not, and will not, force you into anything."

Inoue Orihime let out a breath and seemed to empty herself of doubt and thought. "Thank you." She reached out and took the Knight Piece and her new Peerage mates broke into cheers, save for Tsubasa who gave her an amused/annoyed look, no doubt guessing part of what had been given in this deal. Light flashed as they bore witness the new birth before them and her Peerage moved closer to completion.

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There were several things that Ichigo Kurosaki was not expecting, one was to appear in a completely different location. They had left a well-furnished club room, then they had spent time in a world with green sky and a perfect copy of the Academy. Naturally he expected them to be returned to where they had started, but no, that was not in the cards apparently, as they appeared under and open blue sky standing on an expanse of brickwork, surrounded by trees and plants. Before them and around them was a mansion that made Sona's mortal residence look downright petite. It was huge and long, four stories tall and built in a square shape surrounding where they stood.

Second, Nel was on his shoulder as he had not remembered calling the girl back to his side, perhaps that was the familiar bond...

The third was that it was not just the Gremory Peerage that was there. Sona and her Peerage was here, Serafall was here and three others standing beside her, one of which dwarfed him in power, to such a degree that using the Final Getsuga Tenshou would have been his only prayer at victory, if raw power was the only metric. The man beside him was giving him an intense and uncomfortable gaze. He felt him to be on the level of Aizen in his fused state in terms of raw power, and there was the Ultimate Queen standing beside the man he guessed was Rias's brother...something about the hair.

Apart from them were two men, one woman and a boy. The first was a tall man with the same red hair as Rias and her brother. Unlike his old man, this one pulled of the middle aged look very well, with long hair tied in a loose ponytail and red stubble or perhaps it was a very small beard over his sharp chin. His blue eyes twinkled with amusement, mixed with a bit of annoyance and more than a little worry, as he looked down at his daughter, currently unconscious in Ichigo's arms. He wore a white suit, more expensive looking than Sona's house, with white pants and a fine pair of white dress shoes. The woman next to him did not have red hair, though her face and Rias' shared a ridiculous number of similarities. Her hair was brown with violet eyes which matched well with her fair skin and white dress...and it was easy to she was where Rias had gotten her chest genes from as her dress had a generous cut of cleavage emphasised. She was all worry as she looked on her daughter in his arms.

The other man looked like an older, calmer, wiser, and less arrogant Riser Phenex. He stood as tall as the Gremory clan head, though his blonde hair was much tamer and only spiked where it fell to his neck in the back. He wore a fire colored suit with matching shoes, tie and pants, only mixed up by his white dress shirt underneath his coat. He seemed the most at ease out of anyone here and just seemed to be busying himself by watching and listening.

The young boy was a short haired, adorable looking kid with wide red eyes and a face that looked to be full of joy most of the time. He had the red hair of his family and Ichigo had no idea if he was the younger brother of Rias or her nephew. He wore a dapper-looking red coat with dress shorts and a black dress shirt. Around his neck a red jewel the size of an eye glittered and he was looking at him Rias with undisguised worry.

However, despite all that, it was not the most shocking thing, the most unexpected person there. He knew his mouth was agape with shock as he stared at a familiar sight. Inoue Orihime had changed, or perhaps he had been so used to her that he had not noticed a growth spurt. Her hair was longer now, falling to her waist and over both sides of one shoulder. She was a few inches taller and looked to be...stronger somehow.

Some distant part of his mind called up their phone conversation where she had said she was transferring schools. Speaking of that she wore the Kuoh Academy uniform, which he both loved and hated at the moment. It made her look great with her long legs and...and her chest grown out more, which meant the uniform looked great on her, which he liked and he hated it for how immodest it was, which made him a hypocrite as far as he was concerned...her soul, however.

Time among these girls must have taught his subconscious something, as the first words out of his mouth were not, 'what the hell are you doing here', or 'Sona why did you turn my friend into a Devil' or 'how the hell did this happen'. Instead his first words were. "I-I-Inoue, it's so good to see you again." And it was true, his heart was hammering with a sudden flood of warmth. His friend graced him with a lovely smile.

"I'm so glad you are doing well Kurosaki-Kun." Her eyes drifted down to the girl in his arms, still being healed by Asia, though all had stopped speaking as they watched. Reason reasserted itself and he opened his mouth, but Inoue knew him, still knew him even if he or, he guessed, they had changed. Light flickered out from her hair pieces surrounding himself, Nel, Asia who blinked in confusion, and of course his King. "I reject." She stated, her words echoing against reality, reason, fate, and, if Aizen had been correct, perhaps even the Gods themselves.

There was an explosion of light and sound as orange light shrouded them and the injuries Rias had sustained quickly began to never exist. Asia yelped as her Twilight Healing began to glow with such a bright light that Ichigo had to close his eyes, feeling the Sacred Gear somehow either connect to, or be empowered by, Orihime's ability. Injuries were healed or became non- existent, weaknesses that might have been left where bones reknit were smoothed out of reality. Orihime's mindset made it possible, and her power made people anew, made them perfect, removed any element, injury, disease, curse, it all did not matter before her power.

And, apparently, it even extend to clothing someone had worn as, much to his relief, he felt Rias' clothing began to cover her as it was reborn in Orihime's power. His Haori vanished for a moment before it was on him again followed by him relaxing his Shikai, Nel made a sound of appreciation in his ear. "It's the pweety won," she said, "Ori-hime." She sounded out.

The light faded as Orihime pulled back her power and Rias Gremory blinked her eyes open, taking a moment while she oriented herself, looking around in confusion then up at the person carrying her. She froze for a moment, her face turning red and her legs swung out a little. "Uh..." she said.

Ichigo saved her, and him, from whatever was happening. "Can you stand?" She blinked and nodded as he gently straightened her. The girl stretched for a moment, looking surprised and pleased at the lack of pain. It seemed only then did she notice the rest of the people around them.

"Mom, Dad?" She looked around. "Why are we in the underworld?"

"Well, I was going to have the household doctors look you over Rias..."

"Nii-san!" She almost jumped as her brother walked over to her.

"...But it seems Sitiri's new Knight?" he asked.

"Yes Sirzech-sama," Sona bowed politely, "Recently reincarnated, this is Inoue Orihime, my Knight."

Inoue looked a bit less sure of herself and she gave a graceful bow of her own.

"I thank you for helping my sister." Sirzech said.

Her expression became warm. "There is no need, I was doing what I love."

"Yes, and how _did_ you do that?" Asked a man with green hair.

"Not now, Ajuka," Sirzech chided, "Not here."

Orihime gave the interested man a worried look before she walked over to Ichigo, he only had time to blink before she hugged him hard, her forehead pressing in his breastbone. "I'm so glad you got your powers back," she looked up and smiled even more, "And you have Nel."

"Hellow pwincess!" the Arrancar said.

"I have so many questions." Ichigo said as Rias' mother and father went over to their spluttering daughter. While the mother's embrace was accepted with great affection he noted that her father got a much stiffer response. All at once he remembered just why she had been in the situation she had to fight her way out of. The man seemed to notice as his expression fell for a microsecond before that vanished behind his practised smile.

Inoue gave Ichigo a nervous glance and stepped back as his gaze shifted to Sona, who looked pleased with herself, but also uncomfortable as his eyes settled on her. "Many questions." He repeated.

"I would say the same about you, Kurosaki-kun, but I got the whole story from your," she paused, "Our king?" She glanced back to see Sona nod. "Our King." she repeated.

"Ahuu..." was his reply.

There was a sound and that caught everyone's attention and they turned to look at the man who Ichigo assumed was Rias's father. "Hello everyone," he gave a slight bow, "I have been inattentive as a host. I am Zeoticus Gremory, head of House Gremory, and I bid you all welcome to my house." He looked over them all, his gaze lingering as Ichigo returned his stare with one of cold indifference. "Now, I am sure everyone had a much to speak of," His gaze flicked to the man called Ajuka, who looked like he was ready to burst at the seams, "However, allow me to move you all to a more comfortable place, food is being prepared and I feel that the main room will have more than enough comfortable seating for everyone." At his words a veritable army of servants seemed to materialize out of the shadows. Ichigo watched Rias be pulled away by her mother with Akeno dutifully moving to follow her friend.

Nel leaped off his shoulder and into Inoue's arms as they started moving. The rest of the two Peerages merged into one group as they were led away from the courtyard. Ichigo took that moment to calm down his taxed brain, as he tried and failed to come up with any reason for why Inoue was here. He could easily guess Sona's motivation. Speaking of which, that girl of his was hanging a little back and looking quite worried, much to Tsubasa and Koneko's amusement. Said girls were also hanging a little back, speaking in low tones and looking at Orihime. Koneko let out and explosive sigh and catching his eye gave him a look which said, this is all your fault.

Asia was eyeing the new girl too, though in a 'can we be friends' way. Issei was too, in a 'nice boobs' way which Ichigo put a stop to with a withering glare. Inoue put a hand on his arm and his reaction faded at her touch and he let out a breath, pushing aside all his questions and spoke the words that any friend with his name would say. "I'm glad to see you again, Inoue."

Tension he had not noticed in her faded away with the words. "I missed you, we all do."

"I'm going to visit and that student vacation is coming up. I was planning on telling all of you what happened to me." He scratched the back of his head. "I just honestly don't understand how you here, why you are Sona's Knight. I mean, I can see a lot of reasons to become a Devil, but what drove you to do it?"

Inoue looked at him with her deep eyes and something flickered far back in them. "She has something I want and agreed to help me get it...or at least part of it."

Ok…..Ichigo racked his brain, but came up blank with what that could be. He had some idea of the limits of deals so...what was it.

"But I'm glad this happened," she sounded firm as she tickled Nel's chin drawing a cry of happiness from the girl, "I don't really know exactly what my future holds, but Sona-san seems like a nice person."

"She is…." His thoughts were conflicted, he thought he should be angry or shocked at what had just happened. But he had to consider that Orihime was her own person and didn't need him to make her decisions...but she was Orihime, a feeling he and Tatsuki had often had. However, he trusted Sona enough to believe that she would not force a choice on her. Offer a good deal yes, but he had personally seen how she cared for her Peerage and how they cared for her, which showed that she had now forced any of them to join her Peerage.

"She is a good person." There was a sigh behind him as Sona seemed to release some of her own tension. If she thought this would get her out of a stern interrogation she had another thing coming...but that would come later.

"How is everyone doing?" He asked her.

"They are doing well. I stopped your sisters from having flu this season so they are doing excellent. Chad and Ishida-Kun have really stepped up as the town protectors. As far as I can tell, when I have patrolled with them, hollows have started to avoid our town almost completely. Your dad is busy with the flu season, but he is in good health and speaks of you often, just like Yuzu."

"You spend a lot of time with them?"

She blushed. "Yuzu feeds me dinner, it helps save money." His eyes flickered over to Sona, whom he was sure was listening. Their eyes met for a moment and she nodded at the unspoken words, moving up to walk beside them.

"That reminds me Inoue-san," she smoothly interjected, "Your living arrangements."

"Yes?"

"I prefer my Peerage not to live alone, if they have family that is all well and good, but in the case where they would be by themselves I have more than enough room at my Japanese home. Currently Ichigo-kun lives with me along with Tsubasa, when her parents are out of town, Nel, and Mori-San and I assure you that a new addition would be no bother." Inoue looked for a moment like she might argue, but she glanced at him and her expression became thoughtful.

"The bank people are not going to like me..."

"I can have a lawyer hired for you to take care of it." Sona said.

Before them loomed a set of doors and they opened by themselves before any could reach them. The room was a large one, with couches and a fireplace you could run a car though. A fire roared inside of it but the heat, that should have been blistering, was just pleasant, seeming to spread throughout the room, perfectly distributed. Before he could go anywhere Serafall was at his side and wrapped her arms around his. "Sorry to draw you away Ichi-Kun, but I got two people that want to talk to you and one is about to go crazy." She smiled at Orihime. "Hello, Inoue right?"

"Uh, uh, yes?"

"Good, good. I am Serafall Leviathan and I will be talking to you later," She gave Sona an apologetic look, "Again So-Tan, sorry, but this has to happen." He was dragged away before his King could reply as his girlfriend pulled his ear close to her mouth and whispered. "Just to warn you ahead of time, speak the truth. Ajuka has like six ways to tell if you are lying."

"Am I in trouble?"

"I won't let you be," she stated pulling away, "And they know it, but be nice."

"Yes, Mom." He said.

"No, no, no, I'm too young to be called that." she paused. "Unless we are in the bed, then that's fine, though I would prefer Onee-Sama." He coughed as his cheeks flushed drawing a titter of laughter from the Maou.

She moved him to a comfortable red couch, sitting down next to him and leaning her head on his shoulder. He sat across from a man giving him a look like he was some sort of lab rat. He was a young looking man though with Devils he could be anywhere from twenty to four thousand before he would really start to show age. He had green hair and soft blue eyes and wore a suit of green, though it looked to be in rough condition. His hands were clasped in his lap and he nodded as Serafall introduced him as Ajuka Beelzebub. The man reached out a hand and Ichigo shook it, feeling as though he was being scanned somehow by the action. "So you're the one who broke me game."

"...I'm sorry?"

"My Rating Game. I am the creator of it and the Evil Piece system which turned you...somehow."

"Wow." Ichigo added him to his mental list of 'blindingly smart and scary people', up there with Aizen, Kisuke and that weird Shinigami Captain.

"Wow indeed, you, single-handedly, are forcing me to create," He began to count on his fingers, "one, two, three, new rules for the Rating Games, specifically for you. You were a creature that could not become a Devil and yet you are, the Pieces used to turn you did not have the points needed yet they did turn you and to top it all off on this great day, those pieces are owned by two different Kings. You are an impossibility," His voice was rising, "made real," He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "And...and...and I have to clean up your mess."

"...sorry?"

The man massaged his head. "Now, I have heard your story from Serafall and I have a few theories as to why this all happened, which makes me feel a lot more sane, so I will start at the beginning. What are you?"

The room was really quiet and a lot of people were attentively listening in. "I was born a Hybrid of a Shinigami and a Quincy."

"That is an odd combination, I thought those two factions were still at a genocidal war."

"Not much there to genocide when there are, like, four left." Ichigo muttered. "I was given Shinigami Powers, lost them, awoke my own but with the power of a hollow for added fun, I then reached a transcendent stage, which I think was a true merge of everything I was, lost my powers again, became a Devil and the energy from that was enough to jumpstart my soul and let me regain my powers."

"That is a mouthful."

"That's what she said." Serafall responded, but when everyone in the room sent her the stink eye she wilted and muttered. "I won't do it again."

"Ok, so a three sided, now four sided hybrid."

"Who's body and soul is used to conflicting powers, to taking energy that resisted, to enduring through the conflict and finding a balance with everything I had."

"So you think your body was a unique outlier and that is the reason why you could do this?" Ichigo nodded. "While I would like to run some tests on that," Serafall gave her fellow Maou a _look._ "Your girl right there will not have it and I don't feel like pissing her off." He nodded. "Next question, though this is just a confirmation, can you sense us?"

"Yes."

"Well, that is not the case for us."

"I noticed, do you know why that is?"

Ajuka shook his head. "The oldest writings of our former leaders speak of your former people as if they were any other Supernatural Race. They even recorded a war between, the Shinto, the Titans, and your people. But, on the verge of defeat, your race just sort of vanished off everyone's radar. Things that were not a direct attack stopped working. Your people could not be scryed, could not be sensed, could not be tracked by any supernatural means. This was followed by their dimensions moving to a point where they could not be reached and them giving up much of their territory, much of their claims over any soul that was not marked by them somehow and a complete diplomatic blackout that has lasted a very long time." He took in a breath. "Most in this day and age do not know of you. Even I, who made a point to study up on your people, know next to nothing about their powers, until Serafall shared your story with me. We do not know why and what kind of souls they take, we do not know anything about what goes on in their Soul Society."

The dreams which had plagued his mind flared up again, but he pushed them back. "If you heard my story then you know I was mostly outside their authority. I don't really know much about their history or rules."

"Yes, you just invaded them with a small group of friends."

"Yes and thanks to the efforts of either a completely insane, or terrifyingly sane, man." He was not sure Aizen Sousuke fit either description. "We were able to save my friend, even if it was his plan all along."

"I was wondering why they came at you one at a time." The Maou let out a sigh. "So as far as I can understand what is happening, all this, is one giant coincidence?"

"I don't believe in those much anymore." Ichigo admitted.

"Neither do I." Ajuka sighed. "May I see your evil pieces?"

"Uh...one of them will mess up the carpet."

"Don't Worry, I got it." Serafall said.

Well, if that was the case. He manifested the two Rook pieces and Serafall was ready as the water pouring from one was gathered by her power and held in an orb over her shoulder. Ajuka looked over both of them carefully. "There is Mutation and then there is this." He pulled them closer to his eye. "I barely recognize my own work, these things are so warped." He put his finger over the flame and pulled away with a layer of skin missing. "Strange, but at least this does confirm some of why you can exist." Ichigo raised an eyebrow at that, but the Maou was not paying attention. "Let's see what they can do." He pulled out a chess board and placed both pieces on it and lines of code shot into the air for him to read.

"What's he doing?"

"Well Ajuka-Kun, being the maker of those pieces, can scan and read the changes in them and figure out just what your Mutation Pieces do."

"They let him do bullshit." The Maou sighed. "Nothing so simple as just changing one's Piece, no, that would be to easy to regulate. There are already rules in place, nooo, he gets to have two new things that I also have to deal with in my game." He glared at Ichigo with a sort of pure annoyance that, while not quite hate, transcended anything else. He let out a long sigh. "Ok, so for some reason these Pieces give you effects that do not merely break the Rating Game itself, no, they have transcended that and now affect reality instead." He pointed at the Rook that's top blazed with the Power of Destruction, "This thing right here, utilizing the properties of the Power of Bael. and infuses that into your body. For one you have almost total resistance to the Power of Destruction, but the more impressive is the magical resistance it is granting you. Your body and soul are infused with the Power of Ruin in a defensive way that I have never seen. When energy hits you the Power of Destruction starts destroying it and, with what I can see, you either will be immune or, if there is enough power behind it, you will only take part of an attack."

The room was utterly silent as no one was even pretending they were not listening. "That is fine in my opinion, there are Sacred Gears that have similar powers. The other one," He gestured to the water covered Rook, "That is the extra problem with the host of problems that you have already bought. This one lets you grant the Rook's powers to all members of your Peerage and when done in this method it stacks with another Rook Piece or a Queen Piece.

The room fell silent for a moment as the science Maou seemed to realize just then that everyone had been listening. "Before anyone asks, I am still fleshing out the rules for his unique case and, as far as I am concerned, the Rating game before this was fair."

Lord Rizer nodded as if it was not a big deal and indeed the man seemed completely and truly at ease, a manner so different from his son. "Well Ajuka-Kun, I think that is enough for today." Serafall pulled Ichigo to his feet as she stood. "Now, there are other people who want to spend time with him." The Maou waved a hand in dismissal, muttering about how he liked to create not repair things. Ichigo took the Pieces back into himself and followed Serafall, noting that she froze the water above her shoulder and just sort of kept it there.

He found himself dragged over to where the Gremory Family had gathered, four red heads and one brown head looked upon him with a mixed degree of feelings. The older man, Zeoticus, had an odd expression and sparks of power danced in his eyes. Ichigo felt nothing affecting him, but his instinct warned that a power was being used on him. In contrast to her quiet husband the woman of the group glided up to him with an easy movement. He put all his practice at staring at people's faces to good use, his eyes not straying once to the flounce in her step. Serafall stepped aside and let go of his arm giving him a wink. "Well, well,well," she said, "It is a pleasure to meet my daughter's newest servant." She took his hand in both of hers and and shook it politely. "My little girl has not visited in such a long time," Said girl's father winced at the words, "I honestly was starting to forget what she looked like."

"All you need is a mirror," He replied with his best gentleman's voice, "You and she look much alike." Rias gave him a glare at that statement, her cheeks flashing pink as her mother laughed.

"Oh, thank you dear you are quite kind to compliment this old woman." She glanced between him and her daughter, her eyes alight with something. "From what little I have heard you were quite a driving force in my little Rias' stunning win."

"I only showed her what she could do, your daughter is quite powerful, strong willed and determined. Sometimes we all need a reminder of who we are." Inoue was in the corner of his eye and her radiant smile appeared, as well it should, because she had been the one to remind him only a few weeks ago.

"Yes, well, power seems to have consequences." She let go of his hand. "I heard you were in a fightful state, Rias dear."

His King paused for a moment then shrugged. "That was without a doubt the worst pain of my life." A sharp smile appeared. "Completely worth it though."

"I had a similar reaction to one of my powers," Ichigo said, "The first time I used it, the force of it cracked all my bones, but with repeated usage and my body growing stronger I overcame it."

"Well, I will be counting on you then." Rias smiled.

Her brother's expression flickered with unhappiness at that and as an older brother himself he thought he understood. "I will be there, but from what I have heard your family has two experts, at least, with your particular power." He nodded at her mother and brother.

"Indeed, I have had some time to practice my skills." Sirzech said modestly.

"No, I could not," Rias shook her head, "You have an important job and I am not going to ask you to take time away from it."

His expression moved to a serious face. "One, you are my little sister and I will make time for you whenever you need, and two, that was not a suggestion. Given how hurt you were after this game I will not allow you to go untrained. Three, you are angering Mother, who can help as well." Rias gulped, glancing at the woman who showed no signs of anger whatsoever. "Four, I am one of the most qualified people in the world to show you the way." His eyes moved from his sister. "And you."

Ichigo did not gulp, though for a moment he wanted to. "You put my sister through a lot of pain."

"No," Rias had shaken out of her stupor and moved in front of him, a King protecting one of their Peerage. "I made that choice myself."

"He made it possible."

"Yes, he did, and I am eternally grateful." She looked her brother in the eye, "I am free, my life is my own and I can choose whomever I think worthy of myself." She shivered at the words. "Do you know how that feels, do you know what that means?"

The Maou's eyes flickered over to his wife, moving among the guests with a tray of drinks. "I do, in my own way." He let out a sigh. "I am not going to do anything to your Rook, but I want to know why he did what he did. He did not need to, he could have stepped in at any moment and defeated Riser Phenex."

"Hey," Lord Phenex said, "I admit his strength was impressive, but I feel that my son's regeneration would have at least got him ten seconds."

Sirzech shook his head. "I don't think so, not in his weakened state."

Ichigo let go of a breath before he answered. "I want to help the people I love, to protect them and give them what I can. In something like a Rating Game, where there is no chance of death it opened up options that I would not be able to use otherwise." He nodded at Rias. "I helped your sister win because that was what she needed. She won her freedom with her own hands and proved to herself just how powerful she is." His mouth quirked. "And the more powerful people in the group, be it Peerage or friend, the safer everyone is." That last part was a pure Devil statement and one none here would misunderstand.

"The Rating game that has no chance of death." Sirzech said. "Serafall was right, you have been through a war of your own."

"She told you the story." He replied.

"Yes, but a war of a week or two at best seems...odd in comparison to our war, but I should not be arrogant and think that the lessons we learned could not have been learned faster." He nodded. "Thank you for your explanation, young Rook, but in the future please make sure your methods are not as damaging to my sister or we might need to have some words."

This time he allowed himself to gulp at the words of an elder brother, knowing his reaction had it been one of his siblings...well he might not have been so measured. Then again Rias had stood up for him and that might have gone a long way. "Son, stop threatening one of our guests," His mother chided, "You never know what he might be one day."

"Mother!" Rias shouted, her cheeks flushing.

Ichigo had the pleasure of feeling the same emotion as the Maou in front of him. "What?" They both said in confusion.

"Nothing boys." She smiled as she moved over to her daughter. "Now I think I will take some time to catch up with my baby girl." She gave them all a bow and pulled a sputtering Rias away from the group, leaving behind the two confused males and her father who, if he knew what she had been talking about, did not feel like sharing.

Ichigo realised that he was losing feeling in his arm. He glanced over at Serafall who was smiling at nothing and squeezing his arm. Even as he did so he noted her let out a sigh and loosen tuning her head up at him. "What?" he asked.

She patted him on the cheek. "Nothing."

"What did we miss?" He asked Sirzech.

The Maou just shook his head looking at Serafall then to him then back then he made the face of one who received enlightenment "Oh, that's what mother meant...oh dear." He turned his gaze back to Ichigo. "I don't know if I approve."

"Eh, give it time." Serafall said "Though she is going to have to get in line."

"Um, can I go now?" Ichigo asked, feeling like a kid at an adults table, hearing but not really understanding what the hell was going on.

"Yes, yes, let's go see So-tan. She has been missing you this past week and a half." Not really giving him a choice in the matter she waved to her fellow Maou and dragged him across the room. Both Peerages had mingled together, Reya and Tsubaki having managed to get both seats next to Kiba and were deep in conversation with him. The boy seemed to have an amused detachment to the whole situation, which was not the case with Issei. Momo and Ruruko were on either side of him talking and acting a little flirty, but their furtive glances over at Saji revealed their true aim. Said boy didn't even seem to notice that he was supposed to feel jealous, and Issei, for his part, just seemed happy to be talking with two cute girls. "So then he comes flying out of nowhere and jump kicks the fallen." Ichigo blinked at Issei telling stories of his near death...that was odd. Looking at the boy's face it was clear the story was an effort and hard one, but he was doing it. Perhaps something to do with the psychologist he was seeing. "And when she had him against a tree I...hit her with our math book." He looked a little chagrined at that.

Ruruko giggled. "That is indeed a powerful weapon, did you try reading it to her?"

"She did not seem like the type." He joked uncomfortably. Well, well, well, it seemed he had the girl's interest. He glanced over at Saji who did not seem to notice, he was staring at Sona longingly. If he was not careful in his lust after a girl that was not his...Ichigo fought down a surge of possessive thought, no, a better and more fair way to put it was, if he was not careful lusting after a girl who, for now, had made her choice….he did not like the feel of that thought in his head. Sure, things could end, but he did not feel like this was one of those things. Anyway, long story short if Saji was to lazy to notice two girls pining after him, Issei might...might what. Well, that was a question he would wait on and see where this was headed.

Spread about on several couches various Devils were interacting. Orihime and Asia were on a loveseat with little Nel playing in between them. The girls seemed to have hit off, and not just because their personalities, powers, and likes were similar, though that no doubt helped. It felt like something between them meshed perfectly as they swapped stories of their childhoods which, while happy, were tinged with that hint of sadness at happy days gone by...and followed by pain.

Tsubasa was speaking quietly to Sona, who still had a somewhat guilty look on her face. The Rook, while not pleased, did not seem all that put out by the topic of discussion. The two Queens were seated together having quite the civil conversion, while Sona's Knight, Tomoe, was recently turning over a well made and detailed snowglobe she had plucked off the table. Koneko...he looked around, where had his fellow Rook gotten off to?

Serafall pulled him over to the couch where her Sister and Rook sat. "Delivery for So-tan." She announced. Both girls looked up a mix of emotions playing across their faces. "I'll bet you three have a lot to talk about." She spun him around just before they reached the couch and reached up pulling his head down so she could give him a peck on the lips. "I have to go do some politics, but please find me later, 'kay?"

"Of course Levi-tan." Her eyes flashed dangerously with sudden emotion as she hugged him tightly.

"Thank you." She whispered before letting go and walked over to Ajuka, speaking for a moment, before he too stood and followed her. Sirzech himself did not even wait for her to reach him as he joined the group. One of the servants came forward and lead them into a side room and they vanished as the door closed.

"I wonder what they are talking about?" He said as he took his seat on the couch, both girls moving aside to give him a space.

"None of our concern...for now." Sona said in the tone of one who knew what was going on.

"Speaking of what is going on," He gave the girl a look, "I notice a new knight...one I know."

Her mouth twitched. "I did not think it would move so fast, I made the offer after the explanation and wanted to give her time. Please, believe me that I don't force this on anyone. Sure, with her power, I wanted her on my side." Her expression shifted to one of pure nerves. "I," She floundered, "She told her price and I accepted it."

"What..." He caught himself before he asked a question he was not going to get the answer to. "Still that was…." He bit down a frustrated growl. "How did she end up in your booth when she was trying to follow me?"

"I don't know," Sona shook her head, "If I understand how her power works she reached us by..." her mouth closed and when he heard her voice again it was through communication, 'She destroyed all the space between two points on two separate dimensions and stepped through it.'

'Her power does not destroy.' He replied through the link. 'It,' He searched for the words, 'Makes as if it never existed in the first place. The effect is the same, but how she gets to it is different. It is why she can...heal, even if that is not the proper word for it. She makes it as if injuries never happened.'

'That is the kind of power you might see in a Greater God.'

Ichigo sighed. 'And that sort of thing triggers Devil instincts, especially if you can afford it.'

'I'm sorry it was so fast, that you had no time to talk, but she did make her own choice.'

"I know she did and I wish I understood why." He sighed with his real voice.

"Hey," Tsubasa said. "Our new Knight made her own choice and, just as you pointed out to Kaichou about her rules, I can point out that it is not your job to make choices for her."

The words were true, but brought up a flare of anger that burned itself out in a heartbeat. He let out an audible sigh. How the hell was he supposed to feel? He was glad she was close, annoyed at not having a say in what happened or at least having the chance to talk to her...but she was her own person, she had survived just as much as he had...also If she did not like it her power could revert her to human if she so wished. He did not see any reason why it could not, with his limited understanding of how her power worked.

"Ok," He said aloud letting his body mostly relax, "Ok," Sona visibly shook with relief, "I am not happy...but I'm not angry…I don't know what I am feeling."

Tsubasa put her hand on his shoulder. "You know that was how I felt about you when I thought you were just pretending not to notice...instead of just dense."

"Honestly, people should just come out and say what they want, it would save so much time." he sent a glance at the two girls beside Issei. Both of his girls followed his gaze to the scene before them.

"To be fair I did consider that." Tsubasa said. "Though I would have used some cute girl instead, but then I realized that you would have just been all happy and accepting of it."

Sona gave her Rook a flinty stare. "You would have done what to one of my students?"

"It was just a passing thought Kaichou." the Rook waved a hand, though she did feel a bit more nervous than she let on.

"Hmmm."

Ichigo held back a laugh as his eyes drifted back to his friend. She and Asia were speaking quietly and both looking his way. Inoue read the question in his eyes, and gently shook her head with a smile. He sighed and nodded. "Have either of you seen Koneko?"

"I did notice that she was not in the room." Sona said.

"Right." He closed his eyes and let his senses quest out from his body. He learned, almost at once, that this house did have at least a minor army of servants, or at least people who lived in it. There was an odd backdrop of power that seemed to seep through the place as well radiating up from the ground like heat. It made it odd and hard to pick out different people, he had to focus more of himself into the act. "There you are." He said aloud opening his eyes. "Do you know this house?" He asked Sona.

"Yes, I have spent quite some time here when I was younger?"

"What is about three football fields that way and to the right?" He pointed down a hallway.

"Bathrooms," she said, "Though there are much closer ones."

"That's odd right?" he asked.

"Perhaps, but she might not know her way around here, I don't know if Rias ever took her group to her family home."

"Perhaps," he shook his head, "That reminds me though, I have a question for you two." He took out a pen and paper and readied himself to write. "I trust your judgment on this sort of thing far more than my own."

Both girls tilted their heads at him as he spoke. "Ok," Tsubasa replied, "How can I help?"

"How can _we_ help." Sona chided her gently, drawing a laugh from the Rook.

1

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Koneko stood on a stool so that she could see her body in the mirror and had her shirt pulled up. She poked at the spot on her abdomen where the mark had been. She wanted to make sure of something, especially after seeing that symbol on Ichigo's Arm. Her arms glowed blue as she channeled her power into them and as if in response to the action the symbol blazed to life with its radiant blue light. She traced her finger over the marking on her skin and it felt hot, almost too hot to touch, though she did not feel any pain from it.

In fact, as she focused on it, on the power inside of it, the mark got brighter and an odd sensation of power slowly wormed its way through her body. Her Devil power devoured it hungry and she could feel it grow. This only happened for a few moments before the mark withdrew its power and began to dim until it looked almost like a real tattoo. Koenko let go of the power she was forcing to her arms and the mark faded from view.

"Hmm." Was all she said to herself.

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"Thank you, you two." He said with a sigh. "That helps me get the easy part out of the way."

Sona was giving him a careful look. "How do you plan on accomplishing this?"

"I'm...going to make a deal," He paused, "Or attempt to."

"What will you do if he says no?"

"I will have to see where it goes from there."

A servant entered the room and nodded at Zeoticus who turned and addressed the room inviting them into a larger, more lavish, hall with tables filled to the brim with various dishes and delicacies. Each table had a differing theme of Earth nationalities and Underworld regions. There were no chairs, but there were tables high enough for comfortable placing of one's dish, though a good portion of the adults had moved to grab a drink and return to their conversation. Ichigo, Issei and the rest of the Gremory Peerage attacked the tables with abandon. Koneko returning to the room in time to get to the French seafood dishes before anyone else. The girl had given him a cryptic look before moving over and frowning up at a table. Given her height….she looked over at the kids table set for the Gremory Grandson and seemed to send a withering glare at the offending furniture.

Ichigo shook his head and, taking his plate, deliberately walked over to that table, as if it was no big deal and after a moment Koneko followed him. "Hello, young man."

The boy looked like a Gremory that was for sure, but now that he was closer there were some hints of Greyfia's build and structure in him. The boy opened his mouth eyes shining, then seemed to pause for a moment, taking a breath. "Hello to you too, I am Millicas Gremory and it is a pleasure to meet you."

Well he seemed to be making an effort at politeness. "I am Ichigo Kurosaki, your Aunt's Rook."

"I call her Rias," He said with a slight blush, "she's not that much older than me and she told me not to call her that."

Ichigo laughed as Koneko moved to stand beside him, though her attention seemed almost fully on the pile of differing fish slices in front of her. Millicas introduced himself to her as well and she gave him a nod before starting to feast on the food.

"I saw the Rating Game," he said after a moment, "It was really cool. Rizer is a good player and to see him beaten so thoroughly was quite amazing." Ichigo nodded in a neutral fashion. "I heard the adults talking and they seem to think you had a major hand in all of it."

"I helped, but Rias won that last part on her own."

The boy's eyes brightened. "She did and it was so cool, I mean I knew she was awesome, but not that awesome." He leaned forward and whispered. "Even cooler than my dad."

"She was really cool." He agreed and Koneko back him up with a sound of agreement made through a wall of fish.

"I'm glad to see her again even if Grandmother dragged her away before in could get a word in."

"I wonder what they are talking about?" Ichigo said.

"If I had to guess, her status as a Super Devil." Millicus said.

"I have heard that term several times, what does that mean?"

The boy practically beamed with excitement at the prospect of being able to help. "As far as I understand it is a mutation in Devil-kind, it means, as far as I am aware, that the Devil involved either is born with or awakens a reserve of power that puts them above and beyond what most can hope to achieve. Only my father, Ajuka-Sama and Serafall Leviathan were in this class before, in the case of the first two they were born with it and in the latter she awakened it near the end of the Devil Civil War."

"Well then," Ichigo's eyes moved from Rias to Sona looking at his two Kings and sensing the same power inside of Sona, "That is interesting."

Millicus nodded. "I wish I was born like that but the phenomena is rare." Ichigo focused on the boy, reaching out his senses. What he felt was strength, an almost quiet power that filled the boy, however there was no well of power hidden deep within, not like with Rias and Sona. "But," the boy continued, "Like my mom says, I will work with what I have and I will become a proper Devil one day."

Ichigo nodded. "That is an admirable goal."

"Ya, though it is a lot of work. I have tutors in all sorts of subjects and mom says I'm too young for combat training." His mouth twitched into a pout for a microsecond, "Being nine sucks sometimes." The pout vanished.

"It can," Ichigo agreed as various traumas of his time at that age ran though his mind like ghosts with daggers. "But, If I can offer some advice," He leaned forward, "As one who lost his childhood very quickly, enjoy this time. Cherish the moments with you mother and father. I can almost guarantee that you will not regret them."

The boy was quiet for a moment as he looked at him. "Ok." He shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry," Ichigo waved a hand, "My ninth year of life was not a kind or easy one." He gestured to the food around them and changed the subject. "This seems like quite the variety."

Millicus looked a little relieved. "Yes, my Grandfather loves variety and, having been in the kitchen, I can say that he hires a lot of chefs to make sure he never has the same thing twice." Ichigo did not think he would ever get used to the casual spending of those with unlimited money. Koneko made a sound of approval from her meal plate as she sampled the various flavors of fish. "I like coming here too," Millicus said in a whisper, "Mom and dad are much more conservative." Ichigo had never had the pleasure of Grandparents, but he had heard from the other kids that they had the tendency to spoil the Grandkids.

There was a commotion at the entrance to the room as a pair of servants led yet more people into the room. Riser Phenex, looking more than a little weathered, but still somewhat defiant lead his Peerage into the room. They all looked to have recovered well and all of them had much more conservative clothing, though there were still a lot of cleavage and flesh on display. The dresses were about ten times as tasteful and the ones with bigger busts looked to be wearing actual bras. He noted a number of the girls, the ones when had been unfortunate enough to have Issei as an opponent, were all sending the most hate filled death glares the boy's way. Thankfully, he had his back to them and was too busy talking with Momo and Ruruko to notice.

He took a moment to watch them at their table and noted that neither of the girls were looking around to see if Saji was watching. Of course he found out why a moment later seeing the boy standing next to Sona, speaking to her with a fond smile. Ichigo turned away from that and shook his head, he had no doubts about Sona and even if she decided to walk a different path, who was he to say anything. Oh, it would hurt and he knew himself well enough to know he would be mad, but...he trusted her. Plus, the boy was part her Peerage along with him, and he could not be having jealous thoughts every time they were in the same space. It would not be right and he would not let that happen.

Rizer paused beside his table, his eyes moving to Ichigo and they stared each other down, it only lasted for a moment before he looked away and moved on. Karalmine waved at him as she passed and he nodded in mutual respect. Rizer went up to his father who put a hand on his shoulder and led him to a quiet space for a word while the rest of his Peerage scattered to take advantage of the feast. Ichigo stood and nodded at Millicas. "Pleasure to meet you and I hope we will be able to again." Koneko glanced at him with a question in her eyes and he moved his head at Riser and Rias. Koneko nodded and reached over to squeeze his hand before he moved off.

Ichigo took a glass of some sort of spirit sipping at it very lightly as the burn told him it was quite alcoholic. Rias saw him approach and leaned over to say something to her mother before stepping to the side as he drew near she whispered. "Please tell me some world-ending threat is happening so I can leave?"

Ichigo tilted his head. "What, is she about to break out the baby pictures?"

"No, worse, she is interrogating me about every boy I know."

"Now, now, dear if you want silent communication you need to use your King ability. Otherwise your dear old mother can hear just fine." Rias gave a frazzled wince as her mother approached them. Now that he was getting a better look she was taller than her daughter and out classed her in bust, something her dress did not let go unnoticed. "Mrs Gremory." He replied with a polite tone keeping his eyes on her face.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." She said his name as if testing the words.

He nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well, young man." She gave him a once over. "My, you do keep in shape don't you?"

"I work out every morning when there is nothing else in the way, it helps keep me...calm."

"Hmm, I have been trying to get my husband to go on morning runs with me, but he tells me that every time we do that he gets," she gave them both a wicked smile as she shifted her body, "Distracted."

"Mother." Rias sounded like she wanted to die.

Ichigo decided his best course was to push forward and ignore that statement. "This is a very nice mansion."

"Indeed." she waved a hand as of brushing away his attempt to change the subject. "So how did you two meet, I have heard your reincarnation was not quite that normal."

He glanced at Rias, who nodded, before he gave her mother the brief overview of what had transpired. "My, my, the fallen have gotten rather frisky lately." She observed at the end. "Though, I suppose what happened after was not a bad deal for you."

"Longer life span, my powers back, more friends and more reasons to use said power." He nodded. "I would say I am quite lucky."

"And from what i hear you are paying back my daughter quite nicely, to hear her tell it you were the only reason for her victory in such a fashion."

"If it had been all me, I would be more than willing to take credit," Rias said, "But all of my peerage, and this one most of all, were the reasons I won."

He actually felt a blush creep across his face and looked away to regain himself. "Don't leave yourself out of it," he said, "That last part was all you. Which leads me to ask how are you feeling now?"

His King paused for several long moments. "Light," she said at last, "It was the most painful experience of my life and yet I can only remember it with joy. My heart feels like it is ten times lighter, my mind can think of other things. And best part," she shivered, "I'm strong, strong enough that if dear old Dad tries to force any other stupid boy down my throat I can tell him to fuck the hell off."

Her Mother winced at the language but seemed to be willing to let this one go, behind her Ichigo noted her Father who had there back to them and was talking to someone else, the man had flinched quite noticeably at his Daughter's words. "Rias you know the Gremory family Power, you did not inherit it, but his prophecy is powerful, this line of events would bring you to the best possible outcome and it has." Ichigo raised a hand. "The Gremory power is a mix of prophetic dreams, precognitive sense and a sort of information gathering based on pure prophecy." Venelana said.

Hmm, did that change his plans? He glanced over at Rias who still looked to have more than a little seething anger in her. No, this knowledge did not change anything save that the man might know what he was doing. " _Ichigo._ " The word was spoken through communication.

" _Yes, Rias?_ "

" _We need to talk in private."_ He resisted the urge to frown. " _We are all staying the night and by ten I should be alone in my room. Come meet me there and keep it quiet if you can."_

" _All right, though can you tell me what this is about?"_

" _Tattoos."_ She replied as if that explained anything, he noted her eyes on him as she thought that and naturally all they saw was confusion.

"Your Father does want the best for you honey." Venelana said. "He has always done everything with that in mind." Rias did not respond to her Mother beyond a stiff nod drawing a sigh from the woman. "Oh, child," her eyes went from her to him, "My daughter had changed much from when I last saw her."

Ichigo met her yes calmly. "Yes and is it not great?" That drew a smile from his King. "She has her destiny in her own hands." His mouth quirked up as he decided to throw the woman a bone. "Perhaps this was the future that was seen or the best outcome." Rias made a sound of derision but the words were there.

Venelana seemed to see though his words with absolute ease and after a moment she nodded at him "I am happy that my daughter is happy, what mother would not like to see her daughter proud and strong. Though, I do wonder what kind of man she thinks is acceptable?" Her mouth quirked. "I do want more grandkids one day."

Ichigo shrugged. "As a man myself, I can say that I have no idea."

Rias coughed. "Mother, perhaps we can leave the subject of possible babies until I have a boyfriend."

"Of course dear, whatever you say."

There was a pause as all three of them took a drink which gave Ichigo the time to scan the party again. "Riser is coming." Ichigo said under his breath after the look.

Rias stiffened for a moment and schooled her face to neutral, her eyes flicked to him and he held up a finger, waiting until the moment before the man could open his mouth. Rias turned as he moved his finger down, the motion smooth and easy. "Riser-san." She said before he could give his greeting.

The little bit of theater only slowed him for a heartbeat. "Rias-San." He replied the change in his voice so odd from the last time Ichigo had heard him speak. Some of the arrogance was still there, but his demomor, his tone, his body language, it had all shifted significantly. When he spoke it was as if he was speaking to an equal. "That was fought well, you caught me and mine completely by surprise."

Rias hesitated, her flinty eyes telling the man that she had not forgiven him. "It was a good game." She allowed, after a moment.

Riser did not seem at all perturbed by her hostility. "You have taught me a valuable lesson that I will never forget." He tilted his head. "Two actually, but I can promise you that I will never underestimate an opponent again." That sounded less like a threat and more like a promise. "The second lesson is about what topics to war on, I think I will not be repeating this horrendous engagement again, only the willing for me now."

"Well, at least you learned something worthwhile."

He nodded with a casual smile as he turned his attention to Venelana. "I wanted to thank you and your family for the invitation and the feast."

"You are welcome, young man." She replied with a host's dignity.

Lastly he looked at Ichigo, though he spoke before Riser could, "Your Knight says that you are not a monster."

Raiser flinched. "Karamine?"

"Yes."

The man straightened, squaring his shoulders. "I do not care what you think of me, and nothing I will say can change that, but I will say this to you." Their eyes met. "I am not stupid or suicidal," He stepped forward, close enough that if he had been a girl it might have been inappropriate, as he whispered in his ear, "And I," The words had such venom in them, "Am no fucking rapist." He pulled back, his false smile on his face. "Well, I will be off, I must thank your Husband, Lady Gremory." He walked away with a confident swagger.

Ichigo gave him a thoughtful look before turning away with a shrug. Riser was right, that his words would not change his mind...but it would make him keep an eye on the man's actions, if it ever came up.

"Jerk." Rias muttered.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "A jerk that no longer concerns you."

Her hand came up and moved over the top of his, squeezing in a moment of gratitude. "You are correct." They both let go. "Time to look forward to my future," She paused for a moment, "Which seems to have a lot of my brother in it...will you still help me with hand to hand?"

"Of course, Rias."

He noted that her Mother was giving them a look that said something, he could not tell what, but at the very least she was happy to see it, so that was good. "Mrs Gremory?"

"Yes, young man?"

"Would it be possible to have a few moments of your time?"

Her mouth quirked. "That sounds lovely, dear." She nodded at her daughter, who was giving him a look of abject horror and shaking her head no with such force he almost reconsidered, but the woman slipped her arm in his before he could finish the thought. "You should see to you Peerage dear, I will not keep him long." Rias sputtered out things that almost sounded like words as he was dragged away, Gods her grip was strong. They passed her Husband who gave him an amused look of pity, before Venelana lead him out a side door into a long hallway that was seemingly empty. The doors closed behind them and the sounds of the party died away to nothing. Venelana hummed to herself as they walked in silence. "I do hope you will continue to be a good example to my daughter. I am so proud of the progress she is making. Your efforts have put her hundreds of years beyond my expectations." Ichigo did not know how to respond to that. "My little girl, growing up and finding her own way, it is joy being a Mother."

He wondered how his mother would think of him now...he let out a breath and pushed that thought away. "I will support her, she is my friend after all."

"Only a friend?"

Ichigo paused at the words. "Yes?" He asked confused.

The woman chuckled. "I see. So tell me, do you think my daughter is pretty?"

"Uhh," he felt way out of his depth, "You could be blind and still know that is is beautiful."

"True and a good answer. You will do fine."

"In what?"

"Nothing of importance right now young man, just this old woman's thoughts." He looked at Venelana, at her twenty something form. "Well, I might be over a several thousand years old dear, that is old by many standards."

"And, like, one tenth of the age of a Devil."

She nodded. "You are adapting quite well I see, so what did you want to discuss."

He decided to go with the most direct approach. "I need to speak to your Husband for a few minutes." She made a humming sound, clearly waiting for him to add more. "I want him to do something, something that might help him and my King."

"Oh, and what might that be?"

He pulled out the paper from his pocket and handed it to her, the woman easily manipulated it with her free hand, her eyes scanning the paper and widening slightly. "You seem to know my Daughter really well."

"Sona did most of that," he responded quickly, "I know my limits. What you saw at the top was me, the rest was outside experts."

"Oh, I bless the day dear Seras brought her daughter over. We had wondered if our children would be like us."

"You know Sona's mother?"

"Since I was a child, we were and still are the best of friends. We were in the same school, our families were always close. We were casual lovers for a decent amount of time until we both fell in love and were made honest women."

Ichigo felt his brain blue screen as her words brought up very bad thought that for some reason resolved into a naked Rias on top of a naked Sona. He had to refocus with a great deal of effort and found the woman laughing at his expression. "Men." She said fondly.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

She shook her head. "How about we make a deal, you and I."

He took in a few deep breaths before he replied, getting himself under control first. "What kind of deal?"

"Oh, nothing important," Her eyes glinted as she said it, "A trifle of a thing really."

"Oh, no." he groaned.

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The party wound itself down after a few hours, with many of the adults being thoroughly buzzed. Serafall and the other Maou had not made another appearance though Ichigo could sense them still. Perhaps they had gone off to relax among people they could resonate with...that or discuss the fate of the world...Sona seemed to have an idea. Perhaps if he asked in private he could get an answer.

The servants led each of them to various rooms in which they would be spending the night. Nel had been asleep before the party had ended and Orihime had been kind enough to walk with him to carry the girl to his guest room. The darn thing was bigger than the downstairs of his house though and Inoue looked around it, her eyes very wide. "Wow." She whispered.

Behind them one of the maids spoke quietly. "Worry not, my lady, your room will be just as grand."

Inoue blinked at those words and, knowing her, the idea of competition or even the thought that she would get a room like this too, would have never occurred to her. "Oh, thank you." She said as she moved over to the bed and laid down the Arrancar. He moved over to stand beside her, reaching down a hand to glide over Nel's skull mask. "Do you think you could heal her?" he asked.

In his idle time the thought had occurred to him, when he had thought of Nel. There had never been a chance for much of anything, nor had his mind been at its best when they had been in Los Noches. Even in the year without his powers, if he allowed himself to think back, he had kicked himself for not considering it. Having a powerful ally might have gotten him though the final battle quicker...or it might have gotten her killed, so perhaps that had been for the best.

"I can try." Orihime whispered as lights flickered out from her and shrouded the room in light as her barrier covered the bed in its entirety. "I reject." She whispered. Ichigo waited as the light began to fall from the barrier and into the crack of Nel's hollow mask. Slowly, ever so slowly it began to shrink. It was not fast, or easy as Inoue swayed. Perhaps time made things harder to undo, but even that forces of reality paled before her power. Ichigo stepped behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, taking away her need to balance. He remained quiet, watching and supporting his friend.

"Stop if you cannot do it all at once." He whispered. "We have plenty of time." Inoue's eyes flickered to him and it was the closest he had ever seen the girl come to a rebuke. His mouth closed and he let her work, watching as what was an unrecoverable injury vanished, inch by inch, before his sight. Behind him he could feel the eyes on the servants on them, though they remained quiet.

Inoue tensed, her mouth twisting into a snarl of effort, there was a surge of power from her Devil power as wings erupted from her back. Inoue did, in one effort, what had eluded him this whole time, she had used her Devil power and used it to empower her own innate ability. Perhaps the fact that she was used to using her power in such a way meant the Power of Imagination naturally lent itself to helping her heal, or rather, reject the reality of the injury itself.

There was the smallest pop sound as the last piece was remade. Inoue shivered and her knees wobbled, but his Rook strength was more than enough to hold her up. They both waited, half expecting the toddler before them to transform before their very eyes...but nothing seemed to take place. The Arrancar shifted in her sleep and made a cute cooing sound.

Hmm perhaps the injury ran deeper or it had to be her choice to transform. Perhaps Orihime could keep rejecting until Nel's body had never been in this form...but was that tantamount to killing this Nel. The thought occurred to him suddenly and he felt a shiver pass over him. Nel was Nel, but the two halves of the Arrancar he spoke to and loved, were they completely the same or different?

"You did good, Inoue, thank you." He said, the girl smiled and her wobbly legs seemed to give way. Ichigo had caught her before anything could happen and he turned to face the servant who was still watching them. "Could you show me the way to her room?" Orihime let out a squeak that he could not place and the servant gave him a thoughtful look. But no one said anything and he was able to walk his friend to her bed without any trouble. "Good Night, Inoue." He said as he placed her on the bed. Three servants seemed to appear armed with a nightie and some wet wash clothes, he stepped out of the women's way and his friend's room.

He waited for a moment as the door closed, letting his senses fill the room just in case there was any funny business, but it did not seem like much was going on beyond the work the women were doing, so he moved off to his next objective. Following the long halls of the Manor he expanded his senses, seeking out his King's room. He found her with his spiritual sense and she was not alone, it seemed her Mother had quickly gotten her Husband on the case of Ichigo's request. Thus, the man was in there alone, save for the list of questions and apologies created by Sona, Tsubasa, Akeno, and he had no doubt Venelana had done some tweaking herself. The whole goal of it being to stop and hopefully reverse the decaying relationship she had with the old man.

Having lost one parent he had no desire to watch a family fall apart. Even if old man Gremory had been listening to the future, or fate, or whatever, there had been clearer ways of letting his Daughter know what was going on. But, as a fellow male he also understood that his gender could be rather hopeless with females, no matter the relationship. His dad being a prime example with Karin and Yuzu, who, bless their hearts, had patience with his bumbling ways, though it helped that they knew for a fact he loved them with all his heart.

Ichigo slowed his pace as he walked, moving around the night staff that were doing the million things it took to keep a place of this size running to the standards of a family like the Gremory. But it seemed the night staff could wear whatever they wanted, if they did not have normal contact with guests of the family. They also all looked well fed, well dressed and, if he had to guess, well paid. If Rias was any indication, these were not the type of rich people to skimp on pay.

As it turned out his timing was perfect. Rias and her father parted ways about sixty seconds before he reached her door and knocked quietly. His King poked her head out the door and nodded drawing him into her room...which made his guest room seem like paupers quarters. The place was as big as the Occult Club building, thoroughly cleaned, with a bed that a horse could give birth in and have room to spare. He saw an open door on the side wall leading to what looked like a personal shower, if Rias decided the family swimming bath was not to her liking that day. The far wall across from the bed was dominated by pictures of her and her family, with the apex being a rather large painting of Rias in a dress hanging above a lit fireplace, which cast the room in a pleasant mix of light and shadow. It was this fireplace that Rias led him to with two chairs nearby and when he sat down he found it comfortable and still warm from its previous occupant.

"How was your evening?" He asked.

Rias glanced at the fire for a moment as she got comfortable. Looking at the girl it would have been plain to anyone how lovely she was. Dressed in a red nightie that went down to her ankles and simmered in the firelight, catching the curve of her breasts that stood out against the sheer fabric in a very interesting manner. So he did what he was growing used to and locked his eyes above her neck. "It was…" Her expression was odd, mixed, "Good, or at least the start of something good."

Well, it seemed her old man had not buggered up his part. That was good, he did not want to have to think about what his next plan would have had to be...if he would have been able to come up with a new one in the first place. "Oh?" He asked.

"My father came by...probably Mother's influence, but still." Her hand moved to touch her heart "I'm feeling a little bit better, at the very least I was able to get out some words that I had been keeping inside for so long I'd almost forgotten them.

Well the man had followed tip thirty five: **Let her yell and be angry, do not push back.**

"Good, that is very healthy." His King gave him a look at that statement, making a humming sound with her eyes narrowed.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

She moved a hand to her arm. "When you were in that form there was an odd symbol on your gauntlet."

Ichigo nodded. "I think it is the five-pointed Quincy cross."

"I see. Do you or does your power go around putting that symbol on things?"

"No, not that I am aware of."

Rias let out a sigh and held up her right hand, power flared as Destruction covered her right hand, carefully, with her other hand, she reached down and grabbed the hem of her nightie. He froze as she pulled it up, but relaxed on seeing a pair of shorts, though they were hung low on her hips and...his head tilted as he saw the glowing symbol. "What the?" He leaned forward to make sure and there it was, the five-pointed Quincy cross glowing blue...the same blue as his Soul's power. "That kind of tickles." Rias said with a hint of amusement and Ichigo realised he was close enough that his breath could be felt and jerked his head back. Her hand returned to its normal form and she dropped her night shirt.

Ichigo took in a breath. "Give me a moment." He asked closing his eyes and sending his senses inward.

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Zangetsu was at his side when he opened his eyes to his inner world and Ichigo felt no need to ask the question. The old man knew why he was here and either he would answer or he would not. "It is a corrupted form of the Original Quincy power." His Zanpakuto said. "At the beginning of the Quincy race the King and creator doled out pieces of his soul to others. Those pieces granted power or health, or other such miracles, but at a price. The piece of his soul would spread into the being, drawing lifeforce and whatever power they had cultivated with it. At the King's command it was taken out and drawn back to its owner, often killing the host." Those words brought a sense of horror to them and he shuddered. "In the beginning, all were aware of the price and many willingly paid it, however this is not your power, it is simply the base. This power has been molded by your personality, by your will, by who you are. You, even now, share your soul freely with all around you, yet, unlike the King of the Quincy, your soul grows back. What happened with Rias Gremory and your lover Koneko Tenjou was an evolution of that gift. They had enough of your power and, under stress, it completely fused with them, bonding their souls to yours by links just as powerful as the Evil Pieces."

Ichigo did his best to remain calm as he spoke. "Koneko too...Do I...have the power to?"

"No, what you give freely is their's, you do not and will not have the power to rip it out of them." Zangetsu looked skyward and Ichigo followed his gaze nothing two new stars in the sky one glowing a dark black the other a pure white. "The bond between you and them grants them aspects of yourself, just as the Quincy King does to his subjects. With Koneko being granted a way for her Devil power to be used in a manner similar to Blut, as well as a substantial increase in the quality and quantity of her Devil power and possibly more Quincy-like Devil abilities. To Rias Gremory, well, she did not draw on any of my aspects."

"I thought I heard her say Cero, though I thought it was a trick of the ears." Ichigo made a jerking motion with his hand and White was suddenly on the roof with them.

"Yo, yo, yo, You hear to settle this?" The slasher smile was wide and ready.

"What did you do to Rias?"

The hollow put a hand over his heart. "Do? Me? Why, I am insulted King, why would I do anything to that vivacious, gorgeous, thing that really should be ours?" Ichigo made to move, but Zangetsu raised a hand. "You're no fun old man," The hollow rolled his eyes, "I gave her a piece of me, just like you are doing to everyone around you, I thought you should not have all the fun...I don't know what happened to it, but I am sure my kid is fine."

"Your kid?" Ichigo made a choking sound.

"Well it was a piece of me and clearly her soul used it to make something, I think kid is a reasonable word." He laughed. "Which means I got laid before you did."

He was so busy laughing that he did not see Ichigo's foot crash into his belly before he was flying towards the ocean below "I'll get you for that you son of a bitch…." He yelled as he flew away

"Empty night! And this can happen to everyone?"

"It will happen to everyone who has spent a lot of time around you and has the prerequisite power, yes. Under times of stress your power that is already in them will fuse to their souls and give birth to new powers. As for what happens to you, well, every link you make, every bond that is sealed by your power mixing with their's, increases several attributes about your soul."

Ichigo felt like sitting so he did. "What does it do and what have I done?"

"Your capacity for and total amount of spiritual power has increased, in a manner much, much weaker, but reminiscent of, the origin of said power. But what it does, that the original does not, is increase your potential. In some ways you share in the growth rate of those bonded to you, multiplying your efforts at growing stronger, allowing you to understand and master things faster...it is quite the feat."

"So, I have been infecting people with my soul ever since I got my powers back?"

"A better term is impregnate."

"THAT IS NOT A BETTER TERM!" Ichigo shouted, almost falling off the building in his panic. The old man gave him an amused look before nudging him off the building with his foot.

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Ichigo opened his eyes to find Rias looking into them. "Your eyes roll back in your head when you do that." She said and this time it was his turn to shiver as her breath passed over his skin.

"Well, in answer to your question," He gently moved her away from his face which made her smile, "What happened is my fault...I have been unknowingly giving all of you part of my power ever since I became a Devil...what you see is your body fully accepting and subsuming that power into your own." He paused "Um, have you been seeing visions of a white haired, white skinned person?"

"No, is that something I should worry over?"

"Um, perhaps."

Rias Gremory took in a breath. "Tell me everything and...you should also tell Sona when you get the chance."

"Right." Ichigo nodded and began to relay what he had learned.

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As meetings went that had not been so bad. He left her room after about a half an hour of discussion, he felt a little bad about leaving out the part where the original power had a part which killed people, but with his variation on it that was not a problem. Rias had taken it rather well, mostly in quiet thought, but never with any hint of anger. In fact, if he had read her right, she had been somewhat pleased at finding out her Peerage was going to grow a lot stronger because of him. She had been less pleased about the idea that she has an...well it was not an inner hollow, perhaps closer to an inner Devil. Zangetsu had been clear that they had not gotten hollow or quincy powers exactly, but rather ways to mimic them with Devil power.

So, all in all, he added yet another person he needed to talk to on his very long list and bid his King adiu so she had more time to think on the matter. And that was when he almost ran into Akeno as she had been approaching the door. The girl froze at seeing him and her eyes went from him to the door he had come out of. Something seemed to go out of her as she did. "Rias needed some advice?"

Ichigo paused as he carefully considered his words. "Sort of, though it was more of an interrogation about something I seemed to have done to her."

"Oh," She said, her voice dull, "I see." She nodded at him and turned away.

"Akeno," He moved forward and grabbed her shoulder, the girl paused, "I don't know what I did, but if this has something to do with the whole training came thing that is done."

"Perhaps," She said, her face turned away, "or perhaps I am not what she needs right now."

"That is the furthest thing from true," He tightened his grip as she tried to pull away, there was no way in hell he was going to let drama like this build up, not after what he had managed to bypass with Rias' Father. "I am not your replacement, but I can see you are hurt because of what happened." Akeno did not answer. "So you need to go in that room and tell Rias how you feel. Come on, this is something you women are supposed to be much better at than people like me."

The Queen half glared at him. "Rias is my friend, she has nothing to apologize for if she needs something other my council."

"Your mouth is saying that, but your body language says otherwise." He softened his voice. "It is ok to be hurt, it is ok to feel these things. I have had times where I felt that my friends had not treated me the way I thought was proper." Granted that had been back when he had been a shy little boy of nine always hiding behind his mother's skirt, but the point still stood. "And my mother told me the same thing, friendships are not always easy, but neither are they a one way street and so help me if you do not go into that room and talk to your best friend, the same woman who places you up with Sona, which is way above me, I will drum your ass all the way there and throw you in."

Akeno shivered at his threat, emotions warring on her face, before her shoulders fell slightly and she let out a sigh. "Your right and I know it." She took in a few breaths to steady herself and when she looked at him again her scary smile expression was back. "Though I will have you know I am and M as well as an S, with the right person, so a good ass drumming is not the best threat for me."

Ichigo was at a loss for words or at least his forebrain was, cause what came out of his mouth did not check in with his brain. "Drag you by the hair then?"

"That is a fetish and I might enjoy that." She retorted.

His brain engaged. "I'll get Serafall to freeze you and slide you all the way there."

"Hmm, that might be a fetish, but not one of mine, so that works." She nodded and walked past him pausing before she knocked on the door. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Akeno, don't ever feel like you have to doubt your family, 'cause we are all here for each other." Her expression became heated as she looked at him and he felt a flush of heat rise up his back at the expression in her eyes. The Queen gave him a wink before knocking on the door and entering her King's room.

Turning away he moved off, muttering to himself in a half joking manner. "And they called him Ichigo Kurosaki, slayer of drama." He shook his head and turned the corner leaving his King and Queen to talk it out. He did not need to be part of that...thank god.

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 **Wow that was a lot of dialogue, if this chapter had a name it would be called "Ichigo talks...the chapter." I hope this answered some questions as to what the hell our main boy here did to the dxd cast. The next chapter should wrap up this Arc and then we move onto a whole made up arc for Sona and crew from my own mind. ( Also Just want to put this out there I do not hate Saji he just seems to become the butt monkey in this story….also fun note I found out he looks way better in the light novel picture drawing of him I can see why girls would be attracted to someone like that. But he seems to carry a hell of a torch even in the LN)** **However on that note, good job to Issei he seems to have learned how to talk to girls and deal with trauma at the same time.**

 **Now onto comments of the week**

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 **Fg7dragon**

 **Love the chapter, though I'm somewhat confused on what Ddraig did. I mean, did he absorb Issei's growing spiritual power and converted it into his own? Or did he take it as a tribute instead of a limb for that limited-time Balance Breaker?**

" _ **Not quite, he did take Issei's arm but the spiritual infection that Issei gained from Ichigo allowed this to be a permanent power up rather and one that comes faster than canon."**_

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 **Delzar Wizard Adept**

 **The last thing I'd like to ask about is Orihime. So Sona pulled out a knight, which I think it was a bishop before but I might have misread or be crazy, point is does Orihime only cost 3?**

" _ **There is a very specific reason Orihime did not register as more than what it cost to make her a devil. But the answer to that question will come in due time, if her power was one that could be counted and quantified then she would be one of the things no one could reincarnate….that should tell you a little something about where I am going with this. (On the second note it was my mistake the first time around about her pulling out a bishop, I forgot she had used both already so I made a quick change once it was pointed out to me) "**_

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 **Avalon**

 **What I really do not like at this point is Ddraig. His ranting sounds really childish and stupid. In some ways, even the way he speaks just sounds like an entitled brat on the internet. "Just because you have-suchandsuch- reeeeee" It also feels like he's duping Issei into becoming a battle junkie that belongs to him (Ddraig). It sounds largely like he's doing it out of some weird misplaced jealousy or pride-rage which further makes him seem like a piece of garbage. Which is kind of a shame, since Issei has been showing some improvement in recent chapters, but Ddraig himself is sounding more and more like a really poorly written fan fiction character that exists for the sole purpose of being an antagonist for everyone to hate.**

" _ **We are talking about the same dragon that caused the mass deaths of children in his myth and broke down crying at being called boob dragon and had to get counselling lol. Besides with Ichigo's release phrase he was not in the best frame of mind or mood something done on purpose by the entity that influenced the words themselves. All in all you caught the Welsh Dragon on a very bad day with all his buttons pushed. "**_

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 **Blade 1986**

 **So...Is anyone taking bets on whether or not Akuja's help for reiatsu detection is a certain exiled former head of R &D?**

" _ **A very interesting theory"**_ **=)**

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 **Avalon/Chouritsushi**

 **But... uhh... blame me for watching too much hentai, but womb tattoos? Lol. I'm not entirely sure that's what they're supposed to be, but that's all I can visualize. They're hot, don't get me wrong, but wtf? Seems incredibly out of place.**

 **The tattoo/whatever thing on their abdomen is a pretty common thing to see in various ecchi/hentai stuff to denote possession/ownership of a girl.**

"… _ **.. Going to be honest here the placement didn't even occur to me until your comments pointed it out…..it is going to be super awkward when this starts appearing on the boys…..I honestly did not know this was a thing, I was just trying to keep the ecchi universe feel with a side order of humor once it started showing up on people like Kiba….but oh dear this has put things in a very odd light...oh well" I congratulate you two on breaking me for about half an hour as I stared at the comments in shock followed by me putting my head in my hands I hope you are happy….. But anyway the aesthetic choice had been made and I will have to see what comes of it.**_

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 **Finch666**

 **I Love ichigos and RIAS new Looks but i think if you include the Clan Symbol of gremory you should include the Symbol of stiri somwhere as Well because they are Bothe equal represented in His inner world and so equal in His Power.**

" _ **Since this might not come up for a few chapters, the symbol on his arm changes depending on which king is closer at the time"**_

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 **Comment of the Week**

 **Zerak**

 **Why do I get the feeling that Ddraig is pissed just because he doesn't want anything changing his scales from Red to a different colour.**

 **Also Inoue's power is indeed ground breaking. As in she can reject how light and holy power hurt devils. Or regent the concept of lifespan or death. Hell she can even reject Issei's perverted ways or an aspect of a persons personality.**

 **Her power is ultra freaky specially if owned by someone like the joker (from Batman). Though she has a nice personality so unless driven to she probably won't cross some lines.**

 **Like she can reflect a persons happiness and make them just never happy or reject all their emotions. Or he'll even reject their ability to lie and just leaving them to make an ass of them selfs or learn info from prisoners.**

 **Or regent their ability to breath, so many fucked up things she can do. And some of the things she can use in fights doesn't even require a lot of power. Or she rejecting a person being know to the world like a god and by doing so cut off the power of faith the gain (though this would require a lot of power.**

 **The list goes on and on. With enough power Inoue can make reality her bitch.**

" _ **I love the ideas about Orihime's powers thought I am not sure I will ever explore the uses of her ability in changing emotions. But yes there are a lot of eldrith and messed up things she could do...I think it is not a coincidence that a person like Orihime was the one that got powers like this."**_

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 **Anway that is all for today and I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Fanboy913**


	24. Chapter 24

**Thank you to Aroneden for proofreading and I hope you all enjoy.**

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Serafall stifled a yawn as she left her fellow Maou, smiling at the sight of Grayfia leading away her husband. It seemed rumors were true about her keeping him on a schedule.

She arched her back a little to stretch, the meeting had taken forever. It seemed the greater the issue, the longer they had to spend talking about it. A comfortable-looking couch seemed to call her like a lover, and since the Gremory prioritized comfort and as a guest she was absolutely grateful.

Still, as she sank into the fabric, it did not relieve her muscles as much as she wished, having to maintain a calm poised demeanor and posture was killing her back after the third hour. "You look like hell." A voice said.

Given that she had not sensed him, her body reacted in a microsecond, power boiling up from her core, her mind whirling as she went through a dozen possible attack angles and her response. An area attack would…his voice registered and she relaxed. Since she was half out of her chair she made to rise the rest of the way, but his strong hands came down on her shoulders and pushed her onto the couch. "So, from behind? Got it." She said with just the proper amount of suggestive tone.

He only paused for a moment before her recovered. "Not what I have planned right now."

"That was not a no." She teased, though given the amount of boob men in this world, it was refreshing that his interest lay elsewhere. As far as she could tell, she had never met any straight man that had not been all about the boobies. Perhaps that was something about this particular world in general?

Empty night her mind was wandering, she had been focusing for far too long. "I'm going to do to you what my dad did to my mom when she looked like you." She tried not to read into that, she really did, but she at her core was a bit of a naughty girl.

"Should we move to a bedroom then?"

He either missed the implication, or pretended to. "No, right here is better, just hold still." His strong calloused hands moved to her neck, his thumbs digging into her flesh and pressing against the tense muscles underneath. He had her at a very vulnerable moment and the part of her forged in war rebelled, causing her body to shudder. There was a moment of sharp pain as he pressed just a bit harder. A small cry escaped her before he began to rotate his thumbs. Her body tried to bunch up, but it felt so good. "Ahh~" She moaned.

"The old man's lessons coming in handy…." Her boyfriend mused. "Lean forward please." She did so as he moved his hands down her spine, sending tingles of pleasure through her core. "Wow, you might need a professional you're so tense."

"I don't trust many people with my body." She whispered as he did something and her back popped. Tension seemed to drain out of her like liquid, leaving only a dull, yet rising, arousal. One that was helped along by his next series of gentle touches and pushes. Oh, how might this feel without a shirt between his hands.

"Well, I'm honored then Levi-tan."

Oh Maou, the only one who called her that. Her head lolled back and she looked up into his strong, coffee brown, eyes. "Thank you."

He smiled, his self satisfaction evident. "Well, I'm not done yet, just let me take care of you." She could have taken him right here, on the couch or floor, but that would not be becoming of a woman in her position or a guest in an Allied house.

"The couch is long enough, can you lie on your belly?" There was only a little hesitation before she complied. As he moved over to her a naughty thought occurred and she barely paused to question it. Pulling up her shirt so her whole back was exposed, her creamy skin glowing in the low light. She heard his breathing increase and felt a heat to his hands that had not been there before. "Wow." From the tone of his voice she doubted he realized what he had said. Somehow that pleased her even more, she sucked in a breath as his fingers dug into her skin again, this time on her lower back.

"Can I pick your brain about something?"

"Mhhhh." she responded in the affirmative.

"What is your favorite restaurant and what is your sister's?"

Well, that got her attention, how long had it been since she had gone to a restaurant? A nostalgic memory broke through her pleasure infused brain. "There was a modest sized place in the capital," She fought a frown off her face the memories of it seemed so long ago. "The Angel's Fall." She said after a moment. "The name was a joke of sorts, I remember thinking it was the funniest thing."

"Why?"

She had to think for a moment, which was hard since his hands had never stopped moving, "Right," she nodded, "It was a rib on the first."

"What do you mean?"

"The first and original Lucifer, the one who had led all Devil kind until his death in the war of the three powers."

Her boyfriend made a sound of interest. "So why is Angel's Fall a joke?"

"Have you never read the story?"

He shook his head. "I know what the bible is, but never had any reason to read into it."

She shrugged at that statement. "It is a story that lots of people know of, but few really know the details. Hell, I did not until I became a Maou and inherited the library of Leviathan." A feeling like a lead blanket hit her and she sighed. "Not that I can just tell you, not without the permission of the others. I can tell you that the story in that book has some truth and we'll have to leave it at that."

"Oh well," He did not sound very disappointed, "So this restaurant, what makes it your favorite?"

Hmm...should she tell him that it was the last place she had been to as a girl with a childhood, before the war, before duty. Tell him of that time in her life almost six centuries past when she had just been Serafall Sitri. "I like the place, it reminds of a time in my life that I miss sometimes."

"I see." His voice changed in a subtle manner, an empathy that spoke volumes without saying anything at all. "Well, when we get the chance I want to take you there for a date, if you still want to."

A warmth that had nothing to do with arousal filled her body at those words, "I would love to, I still remember where it is." She smiled for a moment. "Though, how do you plan on paying for it?"

"I'm sure I can find someone in the underworld who can exchange whatever currency they use down her for Yen." Well, he was not wrong.

"Now, as for my sister, she has a few romantic ideas for a first real date. She will never admit it but she wants the works, the dress, the tux, the fancy restaurant, music and ballroom dancing. After the first any place that serves Udon will do, but for that first time she wants a memory."

"Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me." He said without any hint of doubt.

"Oh, quiet you," She flopped an arm at him like a fish, "I'll be providing the funds for that, I have just about as much invested in her having a wonderful first date as you do."

"You mean you're going to spy."

Was she that obvious? "Only through a scrying sensor and no where near the site." He made a sound which she interpreted as skepticism. A hand rand down the length of her spine in a gentle motion that almost tickled.

"I choose to believe you." He said after a moment before she felt a hand move past her back and over her rump, giving it one squeeze making her body tingle pleasantly, before letting go and pulling her shirt down over her back.

"You can't just think I'll let you get away with just doing that." She said after the sensations faded.

"Given that there are four servants and the Lord Gremory spying on us around the corner I think it'll have to do." She blinked at the statement and after a moment of concentration her own senses told her he was right. His strong arms pulled her up and to her feet a heartbeat before Lord Gremory rounded the corner.

She noted that the man had a remarkably innocent face, "Good evening Lord Leviathan," He nodded at the boy beside her, "Kurosaki." Her boyfriend gave a pleasant nod back. "How are the two of you enjoying yourselves at my home."

Her face was already happy, it was no effort to lock that in place. "It's always fun to see you and Aunt Venelana."

"And she loves seeing you." Serafall noted the woman at his side as not being his wife, she was a leithe wisp of a thing. Dressed in an Arabian belly dancing outfit with lots of thigh and cleavage on display. Her dusky skin and dark hair at odds with her twinkling green eyes, Serafall glanced at Ichigo noting that like normal his eyes were fully engaged above her neckline...good boy.

"Ah," The Lord Gremory smiled, "Allow me to introduce Selena Zepar."

The woman gave them a light curtsy. "A pleasure to meet you Maou." She leaned her head against the man's shoulder. Beside her she noted Ichigo looking confused at their host, and she was not the only one who noticed. The women gave a throaty laugh. "Your daughter knows how to pick them well my lord, this one cuts quite the figure."

"Careful dear, you don't want the Maou to grow annoyed." Serafall laughed at that, you had to be at least somewhat serious about someone to trigger possessive thoughts.

"Um…." Ichigo muttered.

"This is one of my consorts," The man said it like it was the most common thing in the world, "Venelana says I need someone to calm my nerves and Selena here is the calmest of my consorts."

"Not quite, my Lord," she whispered, "I inspire the most calm in you and when I am through there is no stress left in your body." Ichigo coughed and took a step back his cheeks flashing pink. "Something I think we so rudely interrupted, didn't we young man."

"A little," She answered for him, "He was just being a good boyfriend and I was teasing him to take it further."

"You know, I think I should go." He said, looking almost panicked.

"No, no," The Lord Gremory said raising a hand,"I think it is time for us to move on, we have quite a night ahead of us, do we not my dear." Selena giggled and, wrapping her arms around his, led him away, followed by a trail of five servants all looking like they were practicing the art of hearing and seeing nothing.

Serafall sighed as they were left alone again. "Well, there went mood, huh?"

Ichigo put a hand on her head gently running his fingers through her hair "It's ok Levi-tan." She pouted at him and reached up to link her hands behind his neck. She was almost surprised when he leaned down before she could start pulling. There nose's touched and she found herself almost lost in his eyes, she rose to her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. She noted at once that, while this might not be his first time, he seemed inexperienced. Well, she could help fix that. Her arms tightened, pulling him close, sealing her lips against his, gently teasing his mouth open with her tongue, drawing his into a bout of skill. She tipped them forward so that he fell onto his back, freeing her to work her magic in a more direct and easy manner.

When she pulled back to let him breath his eyes had a glassy look to him and she could feel his arousal pressing against her, his mouth moved slightly as if he was still kissing her. That, Serafall thought, was a way to make an exit. She stood up, looking down on the still stunned boy. "See you later, Ichigo." She turned and walked away before her own arousal could get the better of her. Now that, was how a super hot sexy magical girl Maou made an exit. Perhaps next time they started fooling around he would be quicker to jump her bones. Or not, if she was the one who made the first move, that would be fine too. She laughed hearing the sound of joy echo around her and not caring in the slightest.

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It took him a few minutes before he felt ready to move on. "Wow." He whispered. Holy hell, if that was what a master-level kiss felt like, he had a fucking long way to go. He had to pause in his search to step into a restroom and splash cold water on his face to fully get his head back in the game.

He had to close his eyes and focus more than usual as he searched for the next target on his list. With a nod he turned and headed down the hall that Lord Gremory had come from, gently moving by the night shift servants, who went about their duties with a pleasant industry of motion. They hardly seemed to pay him any mind at all and that was fine with him. Once again he was awed by the size of this house, he had walked for at least five minutes before he found the door nearest who he was looking for. Pausing to knock on the door, to make sure it was not a bathroom or other such place one should not catch someone at, he waited for a response. There was a patter of light, almost imperceptible, footsteps and the door opened slightly as two gold eyes looked out. "Hey."

The door opened considerably faster showing him the face of a girl with a wide smile on her face. "Ichigo."

"Koneko." She stepped back and let him enter, closing the door behind him. She had a room more like his, which was to say a normal lavish room, not a freakin house within a house like there King's. The small girl moved on him wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her head into his chest as high up she could. The smoldering embers of his kiss with Serafall rekindled with an almost painful flair and there was no way she could have missed it. When she looked up at him there was more than a little pride in those gold eyes.

Without thinking he leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. When he pulled back he noted the sudden flush of her face that seemed to spread from her lips to the whole of her body. There was an almost glazed look in her eye that was there for a heartbeat and faded with the next. "Wow." She breathed, her eyes very wide, echoing his words at Serafall's kiss, and he knew he was not that good. He moved his hand over his lips and when he pulled it away there was a rush of sensation almost akin to arousal in his skin...odd, something of Serafall, perhaps.

Koneko blinked up at him, looking almost hurt at his action. He frowned at that and kissed her again and this time it felt like one of their kisses, getting better, but nothing to put on film. "That's better." He said.

"What was that?" She said, still holding onto him.

"I don't know." He replied, though he would have to ask Serafall later. "Can we sit down, I need to ask you about something." Koneko let go, reluctantly, and led him by the hand taking a seat on the edge of her bed and he sat down beside her.

"Is it about the mark?" She asked pulling up her white night shirt to reveal black panties that stood out against her pale skin in very distracting ways. She made an effort of concentration and her arms glowed with blue tattoo-like markings which, as he watched, bloomed and snaked over her whole body, even moving down past the hemline of her underwear. In the same spot where Rias had been marked glowed the Quincy cross.

"Yes," he said, somewhat relieved when she dropped her nightshirt. It was far to taxing of an effort to keep his mind on business otherwise…"I'm here to tell you what it is and what it is doing."

Koneko leaned against him and made a noise to say that she was listening. Ichigo gave her the short version, how it had happened, who it could happen to and the new powers it granted her. When he had finished she giggled to herself. "Well, you could have bought me dinner first."

Ichigo winced. "That was my next subject."

She shook her head. "Its ok, we can wait until we are back in the human world. I am in no hurry." She drew a finger across the spot where the mark was. "Hard to top having indelible proof you care." Her smile turned wicked. "And how you staked your claim."

He blinked. "What?" Koneko did not respond to the question as her face returned to is mostly neutral state.

"Senpai is a hentai," she said in a sweetly innocent voice, "What does he plan to do to me?"

He closed his eyes, breathing lightly, and counted to ten. "I plan on taking a bath and going to bed."

"Well that is good, I need one as well." She smelled of soap and shampoo, but she had already stood up and pulled him to the door. He did not fight her Rook strength. "Plus," she added, "You need someone to wash your back." Perhaps it was the lingering effects of what Serafall had done to him, but he couldn't come up with a cohesive argument against her and went along with his tiny girlfriend as meek as sheep.

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It was late when he made it back to his room, after the bath, which only just managed to keep from being fully nude, and a subsequent cold shower to calm him down. He felt prepared for a decent night's sleep. He had stopped by both Sona and Tsubasa's rooms, but both had been asleep and he resolved to make it up to them tomorrow.

What made him pause as he entered his room was the second body in it. Nel was snuggled against Serafall Leviathan, who was sleeping very peacefully and deeply, his face twitched once before a smile snuck across it. It said something about how far he had come that he merely went to don his pajamas and after only a moment of hesitation slip into the other side of the bed. He took in a breath as he pulled the covers over himself. Serafall smelled like the great ocean and he found himself drifting off to sleep with such ease that he did not even remember snuggling next to her with Nel between them.

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Once again he found himself hovering in a void of darkness. It was odd because there was usually a dream before this part, before he was shifted to the throne of the Quincy King. He waited for it but nothing happened. "Well, this is new." He said aloud.

"I agree and it is quite pleasant." The voice was strong, cultured and perfectly polite and it made his blood turn to ice. He spun, reaching for a Zangetsu that was not there. "No need of that, I could not harm you here even if I wished, which I do not." Another figure sat on a throne, or rather a tall backed chair, he was bound from foot to neck in tight black wrapping that restricted any movement. There was a wrapping that covered one eye and brown hair messy but somehow more ordered than one might expect.

"Aizen." Ichigo whispered, his feet moving to leap back, but somehow it took him forward as if physics itself had been turned on its head.

"This is the realm of dreams Kurosaki and the most powerful mind has the most power." There was a glow under the wrapping, a purple light that made his mouth run dry. "Neither of us are more powerful than the Hougyoku."

It was a physical effort not to have a panic attack, even with his enemy bound before him. His mouth kept shut, his body taut as a compressed spring. Sosuake Aizen looked amused at his actions. "Come now boy, you are the one who defeated me, surely you of all people have nothing to fear."

Ichigo did not move, nor acknowledge the words, and Aizen laughed again. "Well, at least you have some sense. I am glad to have made such an impression upon you, Ichigo Kurosaki, and even more glad you are here." His perfect white teeth gleamed like pearls in the darkness. "I have been so lonely this past year, no one to talk to, no news of the world, nothing save my own thoughts. But even bound as I am, even bound as the Hougyoku is, the thing still seems to fulfill my desires."

That did not sound scary at all. "Why am I here?" He growled.

Aizen shuddered as if the words spoken at him were the finest liquor. "To talk, of course, and as to why you." He shrugged. "You are the only person affected by the Hougyoku who can enter the realm of dreams." Ichigo shut his mouth again, even talking to this man or creature was dangerous, for all he knew he was now under the Illusion of the man's Zanpakuto.

"Even if you do not speak this physical and intellectual contact is good for me." He chuckled again. "So how is the family doing?" Ichigo did not answer, but Aizen's piercing gaze seemed to run right through him. "Good, I see." He nodded. "I had often wondered if I had taken my several opportunities to make a family my path would have been different. If the magic of fatherhood would have turned me from my path." He shook his head. "I do not think it would have been the case, but one never knows and I have a great deal of time for theroticals." Ok, this conversation was staring in a weird direction...perhaps a distraction?

"I did not because I could not conceive of a reason to bring a child of mine into a restricted and bound existence that Soul Society still is, thanks, in no small part, to your actions." Ichigo kept his best poker face up, but it did not seem to matter. "I am given to understand that your trips to this realm are showing you the true history of Soul Society." He blinked as the memories of the dreams shot across his mind, that place had not looked like Soul Society.

"Ah, you have not made the realization then." There was another laugh. "That is fine, not everyone is a genius." Aizen took a breath in through his nose. "Odd, you smell different." The man looked him up and down. "Though I suppose, given your heritage, that makes sense. Are you Quincy powers manifesting?"

Ichigo flinched. "How?" He caught himself but the word was out.

The man gave him a shark like smile. "I theorized the birth of a person like you." There was a flash and they were standing on a building looking down on a girl. A hollow, a thing with black armored skin and horns...horns like Ichigo's own. It had bitten down on a girl, one who could not have been beyond her second year in high school. But Ichigo knew her, he knew the girl because he had seen her picture. "Mom." he said. In that moment Masaki Kurosaki's expression showed absolutely calm as she put her finger to the head of the monster tearing into her flesh and a light exploded through its head.

The scene faded and he whirled upon the man, but another scene took its place. "I was there at the moment of your conception." The scene was one that he wished to God himself he could burn out of his mind even as he watched unable to close his eyes, unable to look away. Part of him realized he was looking the the eyes of Souske Aizen something about the height and the glasses. It was up there among the greatest agonies of his life as he watched two people in love, two people showing that love in the most intimate way. Masaki Kurosaki who did not look much older than the last memory, butt naked on her hands and knees, his old man kneeling behind her his hands on her thighs both there bodies drenched in sweat, his mother's cry of pleasure was loud and awful to his ears, a sound he did not and never needed to hear. Beyond the physical he could sense something, the power of a Shinigami from his Dad, the power of a Hollow and a Quincy from his Mom drawn together and melding.

"I was there at your birth."

"Nooo." Ichigo screamed as he was forced to watch his own birth as if he was in the room.

"I was there when you took your first step, when you gained your first power, when you fought your first real opponent." Ichigo was back in the void staring at Aizen. "More than your Mother or Father, more than your Sisters, more than your friends and perhaps more than yourself, I know you." The smile was just like the one he had given when he thought himself above them all. "In many ways you are the closest thing I have to family." The void began to crack as Ichigo's panicked mind began to shake free, the Hougyoku, limited by its restraints, could not keep him here forever.

Aizen let out a contented sigh. "Well that was refreshing, Ichigo Kurosaki, and I will see you again soon, until then." Something seemed to burn in his head. "You are quite lacking in the area of Kido, I might suggest you work on that, I would be more than willing to tutor you."

The void shattered and he almost came hurtling up out of his bed, but strong arms held him tight and he struggled blindly for a moment until his body recognized the soft body of Serafall Leviathan holding him, whispering in his ear that it would be alright that she was here and she would keep him safe. The words resonated and his panicked breathing calmed. He noted Nel, little Nel, holding onto one of his arms her grey eyes fraught with worry. "Shhhh." Serafall whispered in his ear.

He took a moment, letting his body register the morning sunlight streaming in the windows. That dream had not felt like it should last that long. "I'm alright," he whispered, "I'm up."

Serafall let out a sound of pure relief. "Thank Goodness," She wiped a hand across his forehead and it came away damp with cold sweat. "You started thrashing a few minutes ago."

He did not have to fake a shiver. "Nightmare." He said.

"Itsygo had been through a lot." Her voice was still that of little Nel, but there was a marked change in her speech besides his name there had been no broken words.

"I know," Serafall whispered, "You are not the only one who has woken up like that." Their eyes met and a kind of understanding passed between them.

A knock came at the door, which almost made him jump. When he did not answer it came again followed by a voice. "Uh, is this your room, Kurosaki?" The annoyed voice of Saji flowed over the room and you could almost hear the sigh in his voice.

"Yes." Ichigo replied.

"Ok, um, Kaichou sent me to gather everyone for breakfast."

Ichigo let out a sigh. "I got it, let me get dressed and I will be on my way." Saji left without saying anything further. He tilted his head back taking in, fully, the woman whose lap he lay in. She wore pink satin pajamas that were loose and comfortable, though her chest still managed to make itself known. "Thank you Levi-tan." She smiled, leaning down and kissing him lightly and this time there was no sudden flare of pure need. "That reminds me, did you do something to me last night with your kiss?" Her mouth quirked.

"You noticed...hmmm, who else were you kissing?"

"Koneko."

"Ah, well. What I did was a secret for now ,So-tan made me swear never to tell it to you, so all I can say is that there is a clue in Ars Goetia. It is not the full truth, but it should get you in the right direction."

He had never heard of that book before. "Ok, I'll let Sona keep her secret."

"It is mostly out of embarrassment," Serafall continued, "Nothing dark or evil...at least nothing dark and evil by itself, the way it is used always matters."

"Preach." He murmured before lifting his head off her cool thighs and taking a long moment to stretch.

"He does this every morning," Nel said, "Then he goes outside and does all sorts of odd things."

Serafall frowned at the toddler, noting her change in speech. "It's called working out Nel." He took off his shirt and slipped a new on over him doing the same to his pants. Serafall whistled and Nel copied her perfectly which set both the girls into a fit of giggles. Ignoring that he called over. "Levi-tan, can I ask you a favor?"

"Depends on what it is." She snorted, recovering herself.

"I don't know how long we are going to be here, could you teleport me to the human world and back at some point today, I need to keep an appointment with one of my teachers."

"Hmm," she gave him a spectuive look, "On one condition."

"And what is that?"

"My show needs a possible one off sympathetic villain for an episode and I have heard you have a hell of a mask for it."

He paused in his act of putting on socks and tilted his head. "You want me to be on TV?"

"Yep," she flashed him a winning smile, "That is my price."

"Uh...ok, but I've never been an actor. I didn't even do school drama."

She waved a hand. "Not an Issue, I make it a point to have my show give a lot of up and coming actors a chance to shine. It helps me have fun and makes me feel like I am giving back to my community."

"..Ok."

"Can Nel be his cute redeemable sidekick?" Asked the toddler.

Serafall paused for a moment thinking. "Yes, yes that sounds great." She swept the girl up in a hug drawing a chorus of giggles.

He closed his eyes for a moment putting on his shoes by muscle memory, he could sense all of Rias's peerage and almost all of Sona's peerage congregating in a single room. But...he focused harder until he found what he expected, Orihime was wandering around the house and from the way she was backtracking she was most likely lost. He opened his eyes "Can you take Nel to breakfast, Inoue is lost and will need a guide to make it there."

"Inoue? Oh you mean the new girl, your childhood friend."

"Yep, that girl can make food come to life and get lost in a two room home if she is not familiar with it."

"Aww, that's adorable."

"She is quite good at that and she makes damn good bread."

"I'll take her." Serafall stood, her clothing exploding in a magical girl transformation...that lacked steam, light or censor bars. Ichigo just sat there, wide eyed, for the long seconds her breasts bounced free. The ribbons melded into the outfit of her show character, which was recently modest. "Your welcome." She said with a wink and sauntered out of the room with a giggling Nel on her hip. The toddler was attempting to copy his open mouthed, fish out of water look.

"They are going to be the death of me." He muttered as he left the guest room, took a moment to orient himself and then took a step, using Shunpo to such a degree that Youichi would called it adequate. What he thought was most impressive was his ability to take turns, avoid domestic staff and reach his destination in only two uses of Shunpo. He arrived just in time to see Orihime step out of a room, looking confused. Before the door closed he caught a glimpse of night staff going to bed.

"Lost?" He asked, causing the girl to jump

*Meep* "K-Kurosaki-Kun," That sounded like the Inoue he knew so well, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you and bring you to eat breakfast with everyone else. Both peerages are meeting in the main hall from what I can sense."

"Oh," let out a sigh of relief, "Thank Kami," she gave him an almost helpless look, "I am so lost."

Ichigo smiled and motioned for her to follow him, "Nice to see somethings never change." She blushed and he decided to not tease her any further with that. "Pretty amazing house." he said instead.

Inoue looked around them with wide eyes and whispered. "I know, I woke up and mumbled about being thirsty and two were there in the room with my choice of drink," she smiled, "I chose the ginger water."

Well, that was...extravagant and oddly disconcerting. "Then when I got dressed I went to go to the bathroom and wash up...and I forget how to get back and I did not want to bother the ones about to go to sleep." Again that was classic Orihime.

"Well, if you ever lost just use your senses to find me that will be better than nothing."

"Are you sure," she glanced away, "I mean if you're in the room with someone…"

Oh, she must have sensed him and Serafall together. "Even then," he replied, "I am always here to help if I can, got it?"

"Ok."

They walked along one of the main hallways, passing by the morning staff and giving greetings where polite. Things got quiet for a few moments and he decided that he better ask a question that had been burning at him since yesterday

"Inoue," he said at last, "Why?" The word had so many meanings right now. And Inoue seemed to understand exactly what he was asking, why so fast, why now, why for the sake of why? He took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you have any idea what you have walked into, the enemies, what is required of you? Your whole life is changed, nothing will be the same. You owe your loyalty to another, you will be expected to fight against others."

Her expression did not change, in fact if anything it became more serene. "Sona-San gave me a good overview of the basics and she covered most of what you spoke of." She smiled a little "I don't know if you realise, but ever since the Winter War I have been fighting. I helped keep our town safe from the Hollows," light flickered over her hand, "I've learned a few things about my power, and it is not like this is the first time I made choices like this." Her voice was gentle and without judgment. "I joined you when you took on all of Soul Society for Rukia's sake." Her smile became a little sad. "That was a life changing decision." Ichigo winced and had to remind himself that he was not the only one who had been forced to grow up in the past two years.

"I get that, we have been changed by what we have been through, but why did you not talk to me at least. Take some time to think about what you were going to do?"

"It helped that you were one, that by taking this I would be with you. I trust you, Kurosaki-Kun, and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you would not be with them, that you would look at them as friends, your friends, if they were bad. I know you too well for that and if you are walking this path then I was fine doing it as well."

"So, the reason you made the decision so quickly, was that I was doing it?"

Inoue scrunched up her face in thought. "It was part of it, yes, but I had something I wanted, and Sona-san said she would help me get it."

"You could have asked me," he replied,"I would have helped you."

She coughed and looked away, her cheeks suddenly growing red, "Not this thing. It's...a girl thing," She mumbled, "But that is not your business," He thought he heard her mutter, "yet." But could not be sure. "I did not see a reason to wait, or perhaps if I did then I would have never made this choice." She looked around her, and down at the uniform she was wearing. "And I am glad I did," The uniform shimmered and shifted, changing color and lengthening until she wore the clothing that Aizen had given her during her kidnapping. She noted his look of astonishment. "I was playing around this morning and I saw um...Akeno," she nodded, "Yes, Akeno-san do this and I copied her."

Ichigo shook his head. "I still have not been able to reach or use my Devil power."

"You should work on that, it is really fun." She looked like a girl who had gotten the best unexpected christmas present. "I don't get tired either, and it's exciting to be doing something new again, to stand with you."

He resisted the urge to slump, he knew they were friends, but did she really base so much on what he decided to do? He was no more infalable than the next person. It was one of the reasons he was glad that he was not a King. Not in charge of a peerage, not in command of anyone who did not want to be. "Ok, I understand," he sighed, "But in the future, for my sake, will you please take a little more time with things like this...you know, if have time at least."

She looked him over and smiled. "For your sake...ok." She nodded, they touched hands for a moment and she linked her pinky around his. "So long as you promise to stay safe and let us help where we can."

A smile tugged at his face as he looked down upon there linked fingers. "I can do that." He replied.

They were nearing the others when she spoke once more. "There was one other thing that helped that decision, if they had been lying or tricking me I could undo the change."

Ichigo blinked. "What?"

She shrugged, "I can still do it, for a time. Just thought you should know." Inoue smiled. "I do have a mind of my own, you know."

He was silent as they reached the main room, both more at peace then either had woken and slightly chagrined, the dreams, the worry, the questions. Some of it was still there, but, well, what was life without worry and question? "Ichi-chan!" Serafall called out from where she and Nel were sitting, drawing all eyes to them.

"That looks good." He said, looking over the large circle table filled with about a dozen different breakfasts from a dozen different cultures.

"How are we going to eat all that?" Inoue asked.

"I kept you two seats." Serafall pointed at two beside her with labels on them, Inoue next to her and Ichigo between Inoue and Tsubasa.

"Come on." Ichigo whispered and they both joined the table, each taking the food they wanted and joining in the conversation. It was a time where there seemed to be no competition, just a bunch of teens...well, except for Serafall but she was acting like a teen, so it was ok. Ichigo took the chance to just sit and listen, helping to feed Nel and watching all his new friends speak of the Rating Game or ask Inoue about herself. It seemed that all the tension had at last left Rias's Peerage. Akeno was next to her best friend, where she belonged, and generally the table seemed at peace...well except for Sona. Something looked up with her, but he was almost across the whole table from her so he could not whisper it ...oh, right, he was being sutpid. He activated Communication. "Something wrong?" He asked mentaly.

Sona half started, but caught herself. "Am I that obvious?"

"No, I just have gotten to know you well."

That got a smile on her face. "It is not a bad thing, it's just not something I expected. I will be calling a meeting of the Peerage later, so be ready for that, I will explain it to everyone then."

"Got it."

His attention was pulled away as Tsubasa on his left leaned over to put her head on his shoulder. "Haven't had much time hang out." She whispered, the sound of her voice easily covered by the chatter at the table.

"I know and I am sorry. I plan on spending most of my time over the next week with you and the others to make up for it."

"Staying fair and balanced?"

"As much as I can, I've missed playing basketball with you."

"Is that the only thing?" she gently teased. "I brought my bloomers."

"It is way too early in the morning for that Tsubasa." He whispered back as his cheeks darkened for a second.

Tsubasa let out a contented sigh at his words. "Fine, have it your way."

"I will find us something to do." He promised. Out of the corner of his eye he noted Inoue watching them and gently biting her lower lip.

"Something wrong?" He asked her.

"No,no." She said quickly, jerking her head away, leaving him more than a bit confused.

Tsubasa let out an amused sound and rolled her eyes. "What?" He asked.

"You poor, sweet little man." She murmured.

Forcing back the frustrated snarl building in his throat, he bit viciously into pancake in front of him, taking out the flash of annoyance on the light fluffy delicious pastry.

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So, sated and rested he, Inoue and the rest of Sona's Peerage were called to a side room and they all made themselves comfortable in the various couches and chairs. Ichigo found himself between Tsubasa and Inoue, who was holding Nel, quickly followed by Serafall, who looked at the seating arrangements and, at the smile on her face, he knew what she would do.

Inoue made a sound of astonishment as the girl plopped herself into his lap, he was tall enough that she could lean her head back against his chest and completely relax, while he was stuck with a body that decided it really likes her there.

"That was an option?" Inoue asked.

"Yep." Serafall grinned at her, giving the girl a look so frank that Orihime seemed to freeze, like she sometimes did when Chizuru was looking at her. "Levi." he said in a gentle reproach.

"Mmmm," was her reply, "I do not think we have been introduced." His Maou said. "I am Serafall Leviathan, but you can call me Levi-Tan."

"Oh," Inoue nodded, "I'm Inoue Orihime, it is nice to meet you Levi-Tan."

Serafall shivered. "Oh, I think I am going to like you."

"Ok," Inoue gave him a confused look, "Are you part of the peerage?"

Serafall snickered and Sona sighed, guess she had not got around to the Maou explanation yet. "No no, I'm her big sister, who is the bestest and greatest big sister in existence."

"And Maou of the Underworld," Sona added, "One of our four rulers."

His friends eyes got very wide. "A Queen?"

Serafall shook her head. "No, a Queen is a Peerage position. I am a Maou, but I really, really would like it if you called me Levi-Tan, ok?"

"Ok," Inoue nodded, "If that is what you want Levi-Tan." Sona made a small sound of pure mortifiction. "So, why are you here Levi-Tan?"

"Because So-Tan said I needed to, she won't tell me why yet."

"Because, Nee-San, I am about to tell everyone." She reminded.

"Ah, right."

Sona cleared her throat and everyone in the room went silent. Ichigo smiled, it warmed him every time to see how much this Peerage loved and respected her. It just took one serious word and they went from a bunch of teenagers to a disciplined force ready to listen. "So, last night I got a message. It seems that our presence in the underworld has been noted." She sounded nervous, even scared. "We have been invited...commanded," She muttered that last word under her breath, "To visit," She hesitated, "My mother, Seras Sitiri's manor for the remainder of our time in the underworld."

Serafall grinned. "Oh, Mom wants to see you."

Sonas eyes flickered to him before she continued. "This will necessitate an extended period here so I will have to make the arrangements back in the human world, may I count on your help for that Onee?"

"Sure, I'm already heading that way today, I don't see a problem adding an extra."

Sona nodded. "Good." Turning back to her peerage. "I am going to explain to you all some aspects of my family you do not know and I do not wish them to be a surprise." She began to tell them of her family dynamic, something he already knew so he made use of this moment and gave his Maou a moderate pinch on the rear drawing a slight start from her. "I notice you did not charge her for the trip." He whispered in her ear.

"She is So-tan." Without appearing to move she shifted, ever so slightly, on his lap. He ignored the thrill of pleasure.

"And So-tan gets everything for free?"

"Exactly."

"And so in conclusion," Sona continued, "Both women in the house are Mrs. Sitiri, and my father is Mr. Sitiri. Both are married to my mother but not to each other. Next you should all be aware my mother can be somewhat lacking in respect of personal space when she is excited. My Father and Aunt will do there best to mitigate that, but be prepared." She sent most of her look at him, Saji and Tomoe, the ones to be most effected by the fairer sex.

"Um," Inoue raised her hand, "I'm very new, what kind of manners are expected from me, how should I greet people and, you know, that stuff?"

"A very good question Inoue-San." She nodded at Reya. "Kusaka-san, would you be so kind as you tutor our newest family member?"

The girl smiled. "It would be my pleasure, Kaichou." Inoue's shoulders relaxed.

The meeting lasted for a good half an hour as Sona pumped their brains full of all the knowledge she considered appropriate. Ichigo got the impression that she had never actually introduced her Peerage to her mother...and knowing her, Sona would dearly love to have the approval of her parents in her choices.

Motioning for him to stay, she waited until everyone filled out of the room. He noted Saji give his King and him a look of...something and his fist clenched before he left, leaving Inoue and Tsubasa, both of whom paused before they left the room. "When are you free today?" Yura asked.

"Evening around 6 or 7ish." He responded. "Ok, there is a pool here that," She shook her head, "Has to be seen to be believed." She looked around her. "And yes, everyone in this room is welcome."

"Sounds good." Ichigo nodded.

"A very good Idea, Yura." Sona smiled at her and the Rook, while rolling her eyes, smiled back. "I should point out that we are more than likely to find more people than us showing up." They both looked at him for some reason as if it was his fault.

"I know." Tsubasa said, as she put a hand on Inoue's shoulder. "Come on, we have to get you to Reya."

"Ok," She looked back, "See you later Kurosaki-Kun." He nodded at her and Nel, who was grinning at him with an expression of amusement far in excess of her bodies age. As the door closed he waited as Sona moved to side beside him and Serafall slid off his lap to the other side. That had the unfortunate effect to revealing a strong sign of his arousal. Sona blushed beet red as she stared, which set him off as he pulled a pillow off the side and placed it over his crotch. Serafall spent this whole time holding in a giggle until she couldn't help it. When she laughed Sona flinched, breaking the trance and looking away mortified.

"So," he said not looking at either girl. "What do we need to talk about?"

Sona coughed and did not turn her head. "Um, well..you see.."

"Mom probably wants to meet you more than the rest of So-tan's peerage. Mom always did say that when we found a man she was going to have to test drive them to make sure they could please us."

"That was a joke of course," Sona half shouted in panic, "But yes, she does want to meet…" she looked at her sister, "Our boyfriend."

"Oh, when I told her that both of us had the same man," Levi-Tans laugh was like music, "She got that look in her eye and said, 'Very interesting.'." Sona made a whimpering sound. "And Dad…."

"Yes!" Sona said, latching onto a topic she could use to drive the conversation forward. "My father," the words were delicate, "Is a good man, who loves and cares for us dearly, but thinks, at least in my case, he can make a better match for myself than I can." She sighed. "Thankfully I got him to agree that he would not arrange anything with anyone if they could not beat me in chess, saved me a world of headaches. But, to make a long story short he might not...like you at first."

"Sounds like the feeling might be mutual." Sona winced. "Does he think the same about you Levi-tan?"

Her smile became scary for just the slightest moment. "Oh, we had a heart to heart about that after the Civil War, he knows his limits in regards to me."

"Brute force vs subtlety?" He mused.

"Exactly, my papa can miss subtlety. I don't think he has realized that So-tan tricked him into her arrangement and that my little Devil will only lose if she wants to. Plus, unlike Sirzech I have no understanding with daddy about limits, so if he tries to pawn off So-tan to some nobody loser, I will step in."

"For the sake of everyone, let us hope it does not come to that." Sona shivered.

"So, watch out for you mom and dad...what about you other mom?"

"Auntie Sabra?" She shook her head. "She will be fine, never has shown any interest in men whatsoever."

"Well, that's nice."

"Dad will be the hardest," Sona continued, "he can be stubborn and headstrong and he might try to get a rise out of you. Or test you somehow. Please bear with it, at least as long as you can." Sona's tone told him enough, the girl loved her father just as much, which meant he would have to do his best to behave. "And I'm sure they will see what we see in you, given time." She closed her eyes. "Maou, I did not expect you to have to meet my parents so soon."

A thought occurred to him, an Ichigo solution to a problem he had been suppressing for a while plus it might help here. "I'm planning on heading home to visit my family when the holidays hit, we will be back by then right?"

"About a week and a half before, yes."

"Well, how about you two, Tsubasa, and Koneko come with me and I can introduce you all to my Dad...who might not have the best reaction to my situation, but it feels fair." Sona gazed at him as she processed those words.

"Really?"

"Yes," his King blinked back sudden tears and nodded. "I would love to." She whispered.

"Don't hold back So-tan." Serafall whispered. As if spurred by the words she leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. At the same time Serafall leaned in and kissed the back of his neck sending so many odd sensations through his brain, all of them good.

"Thank you." She whispered, after pulling back.

"You're welcome." He replied, flinching slightly as Levi-tan nipped the back of his neck before pulling away.

"Ok, you two. We need to get going to the human world if we want to be back in time to go swimming."

Sona frowned. "Why are you going back, Ichigo?"

"Training with Sensei, I need to work on my Quincy abilities."

"Ah," Sona nodded, "Sounds like you."

"Indeed," Serafall said, "Now let's get going, you two."

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 **Well I hoped that got across the perspective I wanted on Inoue's actions and her prepared response to it.**

 **There will be one more chapter to close out this Arc and it will be a nice fan service extravaganza where I am sure there will be no important moments or conversations…..en who am I kidding. It will be a beach episode but as always things will happen and then my second custom arc will start and I am very excited.**

 **I kind of feel like a dick to Ichigo now the poor boy now knows far more about his parents love life than he ever wanted to….trama ho!**

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 **Now onto the comments and answers.**

 **Vysirez**

 **Very creative story. Getting a bit more Rias in the story, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the early focus on Sons and her peerage. Most dxd fics are focused on Rias. It's looking like she might be involved romantically as well, not a bad thing I guess though the harem seems to be getting big. I kind of hope it doesn't go that way. I found the focus on Sona and Koneko to be refreshing and interesting. Most stories tend to ignore them. Good story overall and I look forward to future chapters**

 _ **I'm trying for both, I like most of the dxd cast, it honestly depends on where the plot is for who gets the most screentime. This is one of the reasons I made custom arcs for Sona and Co.**_

 _ **1**_

 **Reven1989**

 **On to Nel...I never occured to me that healing the mask could be killing the young version. The older Nel remembered everything that happens to the younger so I never thought much about it. I can see were you are coming from though.**

 **Perhaps with her mask restored they can meet up in her inner world and merge or work something out about body rights.**

 **And if they do is Ichigo going to wake up next to a grown up version? I can just imagine the dialogue:**

 **Sona "Is that why she slept in your room all the time?"; Nel "Don't worry, I havn't changed forms in some time. The last time I was like this we sealed our vows with a kiss and that was weeks ago."**

 **The results: mayhem and angry girlfriends.**

 _ **To the first part of this, I like to find intriguing ideas at big choices, as you have seen there have been some rather sharp changes in the Arrancar and who knows how much more will follow.**_

 _ **As for the second part well ...it sounds like such a fun event, why would I put Ichigo though that, does he deserve such bad thighs to happen to him? (The answer of course is yes =)**_

 _ **1**_

 **SomethingAncient**

 **So Nel didn't turn back... I wonder if that's because Orihime subconsciously didn't want more competition? Just a theory.**

 **Actually, on the subject of Orihime, I think this chapter handled her inclusion well for the most part. Ichigo's thoughts during their reunion seemed a bit forced, as it emphasized Orihime's physical appearance over their history, but for the most part everything else involving Orihime was done well, and felt like a more natural interaction the two might actually have.**

 **Also, couldn't Ichigo support Orihime's weight without his powers? Or was that sarcasm and I just lack a sense of humor?**

 **Being more serious, considering Ichigo has been helping Issei, will he at least drop Saji or the girls pining after him a hint?**

 _ **Too the first question, Orihime had nothing to do with the fact that Nel has not turned back. What that is will be revealed in time.**_

 _ **Second, yes I was hoping to show how he was changing. He is a creature of desire now and not everything about that is wholesome. It is why I keep having him mention that he forces himself to look away or sets a limit on when and where he is just going to stare. He is changing and he knows it on some level and is resisting it. But of caught by surprise he just might revert to how a devil like him naturally wants to act. A big worry he has is that he will become like Issei, lol.**_

 _ **Three, helping Saji is a lot harder then helping Issei. Earlier he set himself up as a rival to the boy to help him grow. Any help he offers is just going to be seen as him trying to drive a wedge between Saji and Sona by the boy. Plus there is the very real chance that Ichigo would act on his more base instinct if Saji pushed the right button. So in answer Ichigo is thinking about what he can do and what he should do.**_

 _ **Four: yes he can carry her weight easily I was just remarking in his super strength.**_

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 _ **Favorite comment of the week**_

 **Adalhard.9889**

 **Another great update on the bag, now I am also thinking of Sona and Rias in indecorous positions, so let's see:**

 **We have in the bag:**

 **Sona/Serafall**

 **Tsubasa**

 **Koneko with maybe Tsubasa**

 **Probable Sona/Rias and Rias/Akeno, Akeno/Asia and also succulent (very likely) Orihime/Neliel.**

 **Update when you can**

 _ **To that last part I will try, and well done at getting a lot right.**_

 _ **I love it when people speculate and figure out things in advance. It makes it fun to show when they are right or something they are wrong.**_

 _ **But I want you all to know if you guess a plot hook I will never change it because of that, if people guess ahead good for them It makes me happy.**_

 _ **Have a good week.**_


	25. Chapter 25

**Ok everyone here is the beach episode hope you all enjoy.**

 **P.S I now have an** _ **Archive of Our Own**_ **under fanboy913 if you read a little into my AN at the end of the chapter you will see why I told you this if you have any interest.**

 **P.P.S Thank you to Aroneden for proofreading, my spelling is bad by itself and without him well you do not want to know what you people would be subjected to.**

 **Anyway enjoy the chapter**

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"You know," Serafall said as they returned to the underworld, Ichigo noted the sweat on her brow and wondered just how much effort the spell had taken on her part, "It was really fun to have the free time to go shopping with So-tan." Said girl was not looking at either of them, her cheeks were as red as a rose.

"For the first time ever I was able to get her to buy a proper swimsuit and thon..."

"Nee-sama!" Sona's voice interrupted, high pitched in panic.

"You don't have to tell me everything," Holding his hands up, "Let it be a surprise."

The Maou's mouth made an O Shape. "Yes, yes. Buildup that anticipation, very smart."

"How is your headache?" Sona asked him in the voice of one desperate for a change of subject.

"Better," He responded, "I've been practicing in my free time and I'm getting more and more used to the strain."

"What exactly is she teaching you?" Serafall asked as the doors to the Gremory Manor opened. They were all headed to the guest wings to get changed so they moved in the same direction.

Ichigo frowned in thought. "It's kind of hard to explain directly." Oh, at its most base he was learning how to draw spiritual energy into his body that was not his own. But how was the hard part. "I'm learning how to draw in outside energy, my normal abilities work by drawing power from my own soul, which makes this practice the opposite of what I have done for the past several years of my life. However the hardest part is the way I am learning it. Due to my uniqueness my teacher is showing me how to do it in a way that cannot be taken away or suppressed."

"That sounds useful, how does it work?" Sona asked.

"The process is akin to taking a car apart piece by piece, studying each piece, figuring how to use each piece then moving onto the next one while keeping all your learned about every other piece in mind while you are doing it."

"I have heard mortal wizards describe leaning magic in a similar, if more mathematical, way." Serafall had to tiptoe as she reached up to pat his head. "You're a good boy for working so hard."

"Woof." He replied in a dry tone.

"You too are a good girl So-tan, letting Onee-chan dress you up and model you." Her hand only had to raise normally to pat Sona on the head, they both looked at her expectantly.

"Um," she looked around for someone to save her, but no one showed, "Woof." Hers was almost inaudible.

"Now we laugh," Serafall informed her sister, "Because this was a joke."

"It's not funny." Sona murmured.

"Then we won't laugh." Ichigo informed her with all the fake seriousness he could muster.

"Here is my room," Sona said with a sigh of relief,

"Oh, oh, I'll change in here." Levi-tan grinned

"N-nee Sama!" His King cried as her sister ran into the room, dragging her hapless Imouto after her. "No, don't strip me!" Was head through the door. Ichigo turned away and marched his ass as fast as possible out of earshot.

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It did not take him all that long to change to swim clothing, that being a swimsuit and a shirt, then left to head to the pool. Not that he thought anyone in this place would mind a bare male chest, but he did not feel particularly like...doing that. He paused at Sona's room his ear cocked. "So you will only be able to be with us in the evenings?" Sona sounded sad as she said that.

"Ya So-Tan, it sucks, but I do have a job, as you keep reminding me." The words were fond and filled with a deep love that made your heart tingle. "But don't worry and do me a favor and make sure you get some time with him, ok."

"Ok, Onee-san."

"Chan," Levi-tan scolded, "We are in private."

"Onee-chan." Sona corrected.

Well, at least he knew when to take that girl on a date and when to plan for it. He moved on, asking directions once, before realising that he could just follow his senses. He found Tsubasa easily enough, along with just about everyone else. They seemed to be in the same area though spread out a bit. His walk took him to a normal looking door set into the end of a hallway, with a shrug he pulled it open and stepped inside. It lead to two more doors labeled men and women, which in turn led to a locker room where he slipped off his shirt and placed it and his towel in one of the baskets.

Pulling open yet another door he was hit by a blast of wind smelling as fresh and as salty as the sea itself. He looked down on a mind boggling array of sights. For one part the room, if it could be called that, was perhaps two and a half acres in size. The roof had been curved and illusions set into the work to make it look like open sky, white sand stretched out from the door he stood in, backdropped by palm trees and behind the several rows of them, illusions of palm trees. The sand led to the water where powerful, spell-crafted, wave machines sent waves as gentle as a kiss or as the height of a house towards the shore. It was the perfect temperature, not too hot, not too cold, there seemed to be sunshine everywhere, but no blazing orb overhead. Near the far wall a mini waterpark of slides and other such toys rose from the water and from this distance he could make our green and blonde haired figures making use of them.

"Wow." He said to no one. There is rich and then there was this. He shook his head and began to walk across the surprisingly cool sand which, somehow, never got stuck between his toes, or clung to his clothing. As he walked he began to make out the details of the members of both his Peerages.

Of the first three he found Rias and Akeno were both lying on their bellies, the tops of their bikinis undone. Rias had a pure white number that contrasted her, recently slightly tanned, skin well. Though instead of strings to hold the bits together it was solid gold rings, all together probably worth more than all of his stuff combined. However it did look amazing on her, its proper size not seeming to detract at all from her gorgeous form.

Akeno's bikini had gone for the 'less was more' camp, or in layman's terms a normal well made turquoise bikini that, judging from her tanning butt, was either halfway to being a thong bikini or was simply several sizes too small...but he had to give it her, Akeno had the confidence and the body to make it work. Speaking of which he moved his eyes to the next person before he could stare too long.

Sona's Queen was snoring quietly on her towel, she had undone her top just like the others, a yellow bikini with a strapless top, engraved with blue flowers against the almost gold backdrop, dark hair splayed around her head, perhaps he should get Kiba to walk by, the girl might thank him for that.

"Buchou, Akeno." He said quietly, moving on from that amusing thought.

"Ah, you're back." Rias turned her head to look at him. Akeno sat up and stretched. "Did you have a good trip?"

He was not able to answer that as his eyes were currently bugging out of his head, transfixed by Akeno in her full glory. He slammed his hand over his face and closed his eyes for good measure.

"Oh my," He could imagine her in his mind's eye, covering her breasts with modest innocence, "My apologies, I forgot." There was the sound of motion. "There, I'm decent."

With a sigh he uncovered his face. She did have her top on, but the size problem came up again as the fabric covered her nipples and about an inch or two more and that was it. It was distracting as hell, especially when she gave it a little jiggle. "Do you like it?"

He coughed. "It looks so small."

"Ara, ara, Ichigo-Kun. You should give straight answers to a lady."

"Of course it looks good on you, you could wear a potato sack and still look ungodly hot."

That got a real smile. "Good, but is it to your liking?"

Why in the world did she want his opinion?

"I would be a liar if I said no."

"Mmm good, perhaps you would like to help me put on my next layer of sunscreen?"

"And that is my cue to leave," he nodded his head at Akeno, "have a good tan."

Rias giggled at the hint of panic in his voice. "Wait, wait, Ichigo-Kun I want to know what you think of me too."

Why? He wanted to ask, though it sounded like she was just messing with him… but the look in her eyes."You look really good, the bikini is perfect and you still fill it out well because you are just that beautiful." Perhaps he had gone a little too far with that as her cheeks darkened and she turned her head away.

"Wow," she murmured, before catching herself, "I appreciate the compliment."

"Shouldn't you two be asking Issei what he thinks, that kid will be a better judge than I."

Akeno waved a hand. "You are a fine Judge," She stretched a little and his eyes were drawn to her against his will. "However, I can't ask dear Issei right now, he is quite busy." She pointed and he followed the finger, Issei was sitting in the shade of the palm trees. He was wet from his recent play in the water dressed in red swim trunks and smiling as if he was the happiest man in the world. His body was developing quite well, lean hard muscle had replaced the small amount of fat that had been there. His body had been honed by training and now looked like something an athletic boy band member might have. He said something and the two girls he was sitting with laughed, Momo and Ruruko were relaxed on their towels and looked to be having a good time.

Momo had gone and mixed sexy with class, a pure white bikini top, properly sized, though with her considerable gift in the chest area it made the desire to look more alluring. He assumed she had a white bikini bottom but around her waist was a sheer blue skirt tied in a bow around her waist. The way she was seated with her legs curled under her was perfect. He really had no other words he could use.

Ruruko had also gone all out with her brown hair worn in twin tails and a lovely yellow flower tucked away in her brown locks. Her bikini was a strapless, tight fitting, pink number covering the whole of her rather modest breasts in a tight embrace showing them to their best effect. Her pink bottom hugged her body very tightly, covering everything but also showing it off. A paradox of a thing, but one that really worked for the Pawn.

He looked around searching. "They did work quite hard to impress a certain someone," Akeno said reading his thoughts, "But one who might, or might not, be a moron told them that they looked good while obviously looking for another girl." Ichigo winced. "That might or might not have brought down their mood so to speak...considerably so. A woman who shall remain nameless might or might not have nudged a hapless Pawn to go tell them what he thought of how they looked and it turned out well."

He could see that, Issei was not even hiding the fact that he spent a goodly amount of time gazing at both there chests. The girls themselves did not seem to mind at all, in fact Ruruka looked rather proud of the fact. "Well, that woman deserves something special." he said.

"That woman knows." Akeno sounded quite pleased with herself. Her playful tone vanished for a moment. "You will need to deal with your Sona's Pawn at some point, make it clear where both of you stand on matters. It could get messy if it goes on unchecked."

He sighed dropping to his haunches. "I know and thanks for the advice." He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

"You are welcome." Her hand came up to his and squeezed back .

"Just so we can be clear, how sexy do you find me?" Now this girl was just fucking with him for her own amusement.

"Akeno, I am already adjusting my pants from looking at you three."

She smiled "Now would you prefer me naked as well?"

"Will you two give it a rest." Rias had an annoyed edge to her tone. Ichigo had never been more grateful for such an interruption. The tone however made Akeno's eyes light up as if she had just confirmed something.

"Bouchou?" The word was a question and a statement.

"What?" Rias muttered, aggravated.

Akeno laughed. "Go, go Ichigo. Koneko-chan has been prepping for the whole day. Do me a favor and don't fuck it up like Saji did."

"Yes, ma'am."

He stood back up and began to move as behind him Akeno raised some kind of spell. He glanced behind him and noticed them speaking, but could not hear...interesting, yet clearly none of his business. The breeze got extra cool at that exact moment, sending a shiver up his spine. He ignored it and moved on, taking only a moment to catch Issei's eye and give him a nod of approval. He was touched when the boy gave him a radiant smile in return. He reminded himself that Issei had not finished his punishment for the locker room incident and would still pay that back.

As he neared the water park he found most everybody else. Tomoe was dressed in her school swimsuit, playing in the crashing waves while unabashedly checking out all the female's in the area. Reya had gone with a deep blue bikini, not tight, not too small, it looked like the closest thing to a normal bikini one might see on a real beach. She was sitting on her towel pretending to read a book through her eyes were clearly elsewhere. That elsewhere was Kiba Yuuto, the boy was apart from everyone else in white swim trunks with sweat glistening over his perfect form. Honestly Ichigo could see why girls wanted him. The Knight seemed hard at work, creating swords then dismissing them, they were all different shapes and sizes and from differing periods of history. From the smile on his face he seemed to be having fun.

Ichigo made a split second decision, walking up to Reya. "Ichigo-Kun," she smiled at him, "You are looking nice."

"Reya," he replied, "Do you want to do something about your crush?" That seemed to take her by surprise, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "I thought so," he held out a hand, "If you trust me, grab my hand and play along, ok?" Only small meek sounds escaped her throat "Focus." He said in the manner one might use with a spooked horse.

Some part of her must have made up its mind because she reached out and grasped his hand. Pulling the Bishop to her feet he led her by the hand towards her crush. There was a little resistance as she began to panic. "Hey Kiba." He called out, letting go of the girl's hand just before the boy looked up.

"Ichigo-san, Reya-san," He flashed them a worn, but genuine smile, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, Reya asked me a question and I feel like you are more qualified than me to answer." He continued before the poor librarian could die of panic. "She had some questions about differing kinds of blades from various places in history and I thought you would be a better person to ask."

Kiba perked up. "Really?" Reya nodded almost on instinct. "Well I would be happy to." He patted a spot beside him on his towel. "You can sit here, it is more comfortable than standing." For a moment Reya looked like she was about to die right there, but managed to steel herself and took the seat. "So what did you want to know?"

Her Liberian instincts kicked in and she said. "The flamburge for starters I always wanted to see one..." Ichigo turned and left them to it, feeling rather pleased with himself.

He passed by two small changing huts and almost tripped as a voice said. "You do know Tsubaki-San is going to kill you for helping poor Reya get ahead?"

He stared at the hut. "How long have you been hiding there?"

Tsubasa answered with a throaty laugh. "Ever since you walked onto this beach. A girl has got to make her entrance you know."

He waited. "Well?" The door opened and a strong hand reached out and yanked him into the hut. He retrieved his wits quickly, this place was made for one person to change...though he suspected it was more of an ornament for authenticity, as they had locker rooms before this place. It was tight with two people in it, and felt hot compared to the beach behind them. At his feet was a discarded familiar bikini and he felt his heart skip mere seconds before his eyes adjusted and told him that she was not naked.

Tsubasa Yura had chosen quite the swimwear for this beach episode, a strapless top of solid black connected by a gold ring in the middle. Its fabric was pulled tight against her modest chest, just like Ruruko, though his Rook was showing more skin. Her bottom however, it was the same black fabric with two thin strings slung about her hips, a small patch of black covering the area between her legs and as she noted him looking she spun around once showing him a single stip of black running between her cheeks meeting a small triangle of fabric that held the bottom together.

Words seemed to die in his throat. "Well?" she asked. "What do you think? I wore that," She pointed at the swimwear on the ground, "For everyone else," she leaned forward, whispering, "I picked this for you."

"You," he gulped, "Look amazing." The words felt like they were nowhere close to enough.

"Good." She breathed stepping closer to him, keeping her eyes locked on his. There was a shiver that went up his whole body. "There we go" She said as she leaned her head against his shoulder, slowly running her hands up his bare back. It only took a few moments for his brain to start working, or at least the part of him that thought with his dick.

His arms wrapped around her fully, her hair tickling his face and smelling like the ocean spray. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked. "Touch me wherever you want," Her voice became quiet, "Because I am going to do the same." While saying this one of her hands ran up his thigh, pausing for a moment over his crotch as if to make sure he was paying attention, before coming to rest on his chest. "Let's see how long it takes before we are inevitably interrupted."

That last part barely registered past the pounding in his ears, and the thump, thump, thump of his heart. Gently he ran his hands down from her strong shoulders to her perfect hips, resting them just above her bottom. This time it was her turn to shiver, as his hands slipped past the small band of fabric and onto the bare flesh beneath. Tsubasa arched slightly, pressing her modest chest against his as he took his time fondling her perfect ass. Letting this first time sink into his memory, the Rook herself was not content to let him have all the fun as she buried her head into the crook of his neck and running her tongue along it like some sort of vampire. "Did you just lick my sweat?" He asked.

"Are you currently fondling my ass?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Guilty." He replied, giving her butt a light slap.

Her head came up and he leaned into her kiss, feeling something along the lines of pride that he had gotten much better at the skill. Taking a page from Serafall he effortlessly pressed his tongue on hers coaxing her to do the same. There was a pinch on his backside and he pulled away as the Rook, face red and breathing very heavy, took a few breaths to steady herself. "Someone's been practicing." She whispered. He decided not to answer that and moved his hands over her hips and up her belly slipping his thumb underneath the fabric of her top and froze.

Sure he had done some fooling around with Serafall, but that was an older more experienced Devil. Would Tsubasa consider him pulling up her top a prelude to sex, and if that was so and even if they felt they were both ready he did not want his first time with her to be in a place like this. Well, he might be reading too much into this, but better to be safe when things were unclear.

So instead he removed his thumbs and contented himself with rubbing her chest though the tight bikini top remembering what Serafall had taught him, putting just a little pressure into the act and letting his fingers move across her erect nipples, drawing out a gasp from his girlfriend. In response one of her hands began to drift onto his swim shorts. They both froze when they heard footsteps, small light footsteps, but ones they both recognized. The steps were filled with purpose and came to a sharp stop in front of the changing hut.

"Well, that's that." Tsubasa pulled away leaning over to pick up her old swimwear. "We got a volleyball game coming up soon, be ready to sweat." She said, the next part louder than she strictly needed to. "And if you want to do something more fun, come to my room later." He opened his mouth, but she put a finger on it. "We can go as far, or not," She looked down at his hands, "As we feel we want." Kissing him lightly on the lips she stepped passed him and opened the door to reveal a moderately annoyed Koneko tapping her feet in an agitated manner. Tsubasa stuck her tongue out at her counterpart before giving him a rather firm slap on the ass that drove him forward a few inches. "See you in a bit, lover boy." She called as she almost skipped past her fellow girlfriend.

Ichigo's brain took a moment to process the abrupt end of the brief, but heavy petting which was followed by his eyes registering Koneko. The girl was looking at the retreating, very exposed, ass of Tsubasa Yura, her cheeks puffed out in what looked to be annoyance. Under her breath he heard her mutter something about how she should have bought a swimsuit for this, but no one told her. As to what she was wearing it was the Kuoh School Swimsuit, the blue fabric one piece, designed for function, not looks. Or at least that was what he hoped had been in the mind of the person who created it. It was tight fitting, but not in the show and tell way. It looked like Koneko had grown a little bit since she had gotten it. Somehow it looked perfect for her body and she looked downright adorable in it. Thankfully he now knew enough about women not to tell her that when she was feeling inadequate sexy at the moment.

"Hey." He said, getting her attention.

Her gold eyes locked on him, cheeks puffed out then she let out a long exhale. "Not fair," She growled, "I was here first."

"And what you did to me still far exceeded what we did." The flash of memory, the sensation of Koneko sliding herself along his dick did not help his current state. And looking at Koneko as she was now did not help with that situation at all.

"You're going to make me blush, Sempai." She informed him in a dry, amused, monotone.

How long had he been staring? "Well," He closed his eyes and shook his head, "You should not look so good then." There was the lightest touch of a fist on his belly as she mimed a punch at his belly. He responded by putting his hand down on her head and mussing her hair while also gently scratching her scalp. As it always was with her, the effect of instant as she rose to her tiptoes, eyes shut, chin tilted up. For good measure he added in a chin scratch which drew a purr from her and yes he was sure by now it was a purr. Which begged the question why Koneko purred when happy or stimulated, but honestly that was not the weirdest thing so he was fine to leave it be.

"Have you had fun today?"

"Mhhh." She replied.

He gave her head a strong rub before letting go and holding out his hand, she pouted at the sudden lack of physical attention, but took his hand regardless. "Thank you." She mumbled.

"Any time."

"Hmmmph." They started walking to go meet the others "Is that the kind of thing you like?" Koneko glanced again at Tsubasa who had started preparing for Volleyball, doing stretches with her legs and arms, all with the ease of long practice. Of course with the thong bottom she was wearing it gave her motions a whole new level of interest. As far as he could tell every male in sight had glanced her way at least once and some of the girls were looking at her with something akin to respect for her daring.

"I think everyone has their own style, and their own things that make them look good." He glanced down at her. "And that style is what they like and feel comfortable in."

Her gold eyes did not waver from his gaze. "Would you like to see me in one of those?" Ichigo closed his eyes and with his free hand adjusted his swim trunks to hide as best he could his condition.

"Yes, but like I said, you need to be you and to wear what you want, not what I would like to see."

"Hmmmm," she finally glanced away, "Ok."

"Koneko, you are a beautiful girl and I feel so grateful that you want to be with me. You are lovely and sexy and charming in a way that is uniquely you. Don't forget that, because I never will." Thank the gods he must have said something right as her body relaxed utterly, tension leaving the girl like heat waves.

"Thank you," Emotion colored her voice, "But you remember that from now on, if I wear something, it is because I wanted to, and how you perceive it sometimes will affect that."

"Yes ma'am." He responded.

They reached the edge of the beach and let go of their hands. "You going to the water park?" She asked.

He nodded. "Have to say hi to a few more people."

Koneko nodded and pointed at the largest slide. "That is a couples slide, and you are going to go down that with me first out of anyone else, got it?"

He nodded as he heard and saw Nel leap out from under a small waterfall. "Itsygo!" She grinned, grey eyes shining. She was dressed in a school swimsuit as well, one magic-ed to fit her, he guessed, and it was green. She ran to him with a lot more coordination than he remembered her having, leaping into the air and into his arms. "I missed you." Her small arms circled his neck as she hugged for all she was worth.

"I was only gone for a few hours Nel."

"I know, and Orihime took real good care of me."

"Did she now?" He looked up as Inoue came running through the water fall after Nel, Orange hair streaming after her and now, with her soaked by the falling water, her body seemed to stand out against the yellow bikini which was ...strained a little in the chest area. He moved his eyes right along up to her face when that thought crossed his mind, no need for one of his best friends to think him more perverted than he already was. "Thank you Inoue."

She paused or rather froze for a moment as his eyes swept over her before recovering and walking up to look him over. "Your not hurt are you?"

He waved a hand. "I'm fine, I promise." Perhaps it said something about him that she took a look herself before she nodded. "Good," She looked up at him and smiled, "You look good."

"Thank you," He let his eyes give her another once over, "You look really good too." Something sparked in her eyes when he said that.

"Thank you for bringing him here Koneko-Chan."

"Thank you for the warning about where he was." She mumbled.

"What?" he asked.

"This place," she said as if she had not heard him, "This place is amazing, an indoor beach, no sunburn or sand itching." She shook her head. "And it can fit all of us together." Her smile became wistful. "I wish the others could be here."

Chad, Ishida, Renji, Rukia, his old man, Karin and Yuzu...ya in a perfect world they could be here too. "I know what you mean."

Inoue nodded as she stepped forward and gently took Nel from him, the act surprisingly intimate with how close she was ...and what the hell was wrong with him, her looks, while stunning as they had always been, had never really drawn any reaction out of him before. As if to torment him Nel gave a squeal of delight and nuzzled her face into Orihime's cleavage, causing Inoue to almost jump in shock making said cleavage wobble in all kinds of interesting ways. He turned away before his body could betray him even more than it already had. Koneko was giving him that exasperated look again that he could never read, seeing that he had caught her in it, the look morphed into one of fond amusements. "Childhood friend, right?" she asked.

"Yes." They both said at the same time.

"Right," she sighed, "Makes sense." She looked up at Inoue. "Just so you know, you will have to get in line."

"I know, it was explained," Her voice was soft and gentle. "But I have no plans on going anywhere."

"Uh, did I miss something?" There was no tension between them that he could tell, just a sort of understanding and shared emotion.

"No." They both said at the same time, in the same manner, with the same tone.

Koneko nodded. "Let's go have some girl talk Inoue-san."

His friend closed her eyes and nodded. "I think I would like that." Koneko moved passed him running her fingers along his side before moving to Orihime.

His friend let out a long breath. "Ok." Before turning around to follow Koneko, and he caught himself staring at their figures and turned away. This beach was freakin dangerous, far to many stimulating sights, if he was not careful he would turn into Issei…..unless he decided to count this as free time with them...ya while he was here at the beach and these girls were wearing their sexy swimsuits he would look and not feel guilty. That was better than going insane at least.

"Um, Ichigo?" He turned to look at the palm trees behind him, his eyes adjusted at once and he saw a figure lying on the sand. He made his way over as the body of Asia Argento lying on her beach towel was revealed. He paused to look at her for a moment, blinking as his mind tried to register what he was seeing on a person his mind categorized as sweet and innocent.

It was a one piece swimsuits set in a deep purple color. It was rather tight as well a circle of fabric cut out of the front to reveal a very intriguing window of the former nun's surprisingly developed bosom. The fabric ran down her belly and between her legs, leaving large portions of her thighs revealed. Asia had pulled on a pair of shorts over that area he guessed she was not quite ready to for people to see what her swimsuit did or did not cover.

She smiled as he looked her over and gestured beside her on the towel. "You can sit down here if you want, you look kind of tired." He paused a moment to consider and Asia seemed to perk up her wide almost innocent smile, winning him over. He took a seat and she moved slightly to give him enough room though their hips were touching.

There was a rush of relief as he left his feet and a dull ache that seemed to dance around his legs. Asia leaned over him placing her hands on his knees, green, healing, soothing light played over his legs and the ache subsided. It drew a groan of gratitude from him as he looked down on the intriguing curves of the girls backside noting the small almost sting like strap of fabric that came out of the shorts joining the rest of her own piece. "Thank you Asia." He let out a sigh as she pulled back, face beaming.

"Happy I could help, after all you always help me." That sent a beam of warmth right though his heart. "Um," she hesitated, "Do you think I look good?"

Her gave her his frankest once over. "You look sexy, more sexy than I believed possible from you."

"Really?" If possible she seemed to become more bright. "Akeno always tells me I'm sexier than think I am when she has me tied up."

Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it ...too late.

"But do you like it?"

"Yes."

The girl let out a breath of relief. "Oh good, I was worried you would not. Akeno said that one of her old swimming outfits would work." She looked down at her boob window "I wondered if it was a bit much but," she looked up hopefully, "I feel kind of nice you know, this is the first time I have been to a beach, I don't even know how to swim. The sisters said there was no reason for me to learn."

Well, that sounded like a problem that needed some rectification. "I could teach you if you wanted?"

"Really?" The girl launched herself into a full on hug, pressing herself tightly against his chest. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, I always wanted to learn." Down boy, he mentally snarled, but his body did not seem to want to listen right now. "Can we start now?"

He did some minor adjustments to his trunks before nodding, the cold water ought to help his minor problem. "Sure, though in will have to stop when Tsubasa starts the Volleyball game."

"Ok." She squeaked excitedly, getting to her feet, half pulling him up after her. She held onto his hand moving as fast as she was able with him in amused tow. Thankfully she left her shorts on, he did not think he would be able to get in image of Asia in her full glory out of his head. Hell, he would not even want to.

1

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1

The water was cold, the water did help his problem….some of the time. Teaching the former nun to swim involved a lot of close contact and gods was it something he noticed, and if her red face was any indication she noticed it too.

What was wrong with him, he had four girlfriends right now, each a model in their own rights, yet here he was. He was not sure exactly what he was feeling towards this girl, nor what she thought back. But this damn well felt like flirting...and he liked it.

Speaking of his love life Sona and Serafall had not made an appearance yet, it had been half an hour and he would have been worried if it were not for the fact that he could sense them both in the guest room Sona was using. He hoped they would show soon, he wanted to see them in whatever swimsuits they had decided on.

He caught sight of Tsubasa and Koneko waving him back to shore so in a smooth motion he swept up the former nun in his arms, drawing an "Epp!" from her, as he Spirit Walked over the water back to shore. Her face shifted to a luminescent red as she leaned her head against his chest. Both of his girlfriends were giving him looks, watching him, and, at least this time, he understood why, but Asia still could not swim all that well so there was nothing to be done...at least that was what he told himself considering the depth of the water.

"T-thank you." She whispered as he sat her on the beach.

"Well, if you are done with that," Tsubasa said in that tone of hers, "We set up the volleyball net."

"And got the teams." Koneko added.

"I found snacks!" Orihime said as she walked up, Nel toddling behind her voice much happier than the other two.

"Now all we have to do is wait until Kaichou gets here so we can start picking teams"

Ichigo closed his eyes. "They seem to be on there way," he said after a moment, "Finally."

"I have been wondering where my Rival had gotten to." Rias Gremory walked over to join them, followed by Akeno and Tsabaki. Ichigo noted that the others spread over the beach were making their way over. Saji looked like a man filled with disappointment while Issei was happily chatting and listening to Sona's Pawn and Bishop. Wonder where he learned how to hold a conversation that long, granted his eyes were on there boobs more than seventy percent of the time, but progress was at least good.

"Looks like everyone wants to play." Ichigo said.

"I like the sound of that." Tsubasa popped her knuckles her face transformed by her grin. "We could do peerage vs…." She glanced at him. "Right, you're part of both...girls vs boys perhaps, you boys will just have to make use of that stamina to make sure we all get a turn."

"That was very evil Tsubasa," Ichigo informed her, "And I love it."

Koneko glanced behind them. "Blue balls is doing better than I expected."

"Ya," Tsubasa said, "Those two might, just might, be moving on."

Tsubaki shrugged. "Perhaps, though if Saji somehow makes a miraculous realization..."

She was cut off as said boy joined them, making it a point to be as far away from Ichigo as possible. "If I do what?" he asked.

"Stop being an Idiot." The boy frowned at his Queen, then shrugged. "Oh," He said as his head turned. "Looks like Ruruko and Momo are having a good time." Then he saw who they were with. "Well, I did not know the pervert had that in him." There was no hint of jealousy, nothing to mark his words as significant. Ichigo frowned looking at him, which seemed to raise the boy's hackles. "What?" He half snapped.

"Nothing." Ichigo replied as a thought began to form and he made a note to speak with the boy later when he had the chance. He looked up before the door opened. "Looks like they're here." One of the doors opened and the Sitri sisters emerged. Serafall seemed to have gone with the Akeno School of swimsuit. A pink and black striped top and bottom, with the top stretched over her boobs, but not able to cover all of her impressive chest, which bounced and jiggled with every step she took...that could not have been natural.

Sona on the other hand...well, she had wrapped herself in a beach towel, her face red as a beet. "Come on So-tan we have to show everybody."

"No" Sona snapped. "I can't believe I let you drag me out here in...in this."

"Aww, but you look gorgeous and look Ichi-Chan is right there, hi Ichi-chan!"

"Levi-tan," He nodded, "What have you done to poor Sona?"

"I got her the best possible bikini." Serafall grinned. "Guaranteed to catch all the eyes."

"I don't want all the eyes." Sona looked almost like a scared rabbit about to run.

"Kaichou in a bikini." Saji mumbled, looking on the verge of a nosebleed. Ichigo noted Momo and Ruruka's shoulders visibly droop, quickly followed by Issei's question of concern.

"Yep and So-tan looks good." Serafall looked over all of them. "See, So-Tan you're not wearing anything close to the most revealing."

It took a moment before Sona caught on to that fact as she surveyed both peerages. "T-Tsubasa Yura where is the bottom of your swimsuit!?" She almost shrieked.

The Rook stuck her tongue out at her King and turned to show everyone her thong covered backside even giving it a little smack. "I think it looks good."

Serafall gave a whistle of appreciation "I agree"

"Yura," Sona growled, "That is inappropriate for a gathering such as this." Ichigo almost smirked as everyone seemed to be looking at the Rooks butt right now, even Saji.

"I'm not the only one" Yura said in an easy draw "Look at Asia-chan"

The former nun flushed beet red and pulled up her shorts even higher on her hips. "Leave her out of this," Ichigo chided, "She put on shorts."

"Hmmm, ok, but I can't help it if I am the most bold of the lot." Koneko grumbled at that statement and Akeno gave the Rook a look of pure amusement.

"Perhaps we should test that, darling." The Thunder Queen murmured.

Tsubasa hesitated at that, this was Akeno after all and it was known who the girl spent her evenings with Asia and her ...proclivities. "They are the most bold among my own Peerage." She corrected.

"You will go put on some shorts or so help me I will put you over my knee right here right now" Sona almost sounded pissed.

Only Ichigo saw the sudden sparkle in the Rook's eyes as she put her hands on her hips. "You did not give us a dress code Kaichou."

"Well I am having one now, if any of mine are part of group activities and events such as this they will be required to maintain some levels of decency." She paused for a moment and added "What you do on your own time is up to you."

Rias tilted her head glancing at her own peerage "That is not the case with us, go wild. Hell ,go nude if you want to."

Sona's face was red as a tomato as she sent a thunderous glare at her rival who was clearly taking enjoying this situation at her own expense. "Now put some Maou damned pants on." She snarled at her Rook.

Tsubasa opened her mouth, but Ichigo made a single sharp twitch of his head, he did not know why the Rook was being so sassy today, but pushing poor Sona any further might trigger the young King. Plus the Rook only seemed to want to have some fun, perhaps she did not know when to stop. "Yes Kaichou." She sighed and Devil power spun around her resolving into tight shorts, which hugged her cheeks very firmly indeed, but Sona seemed to relax.

"Well, with that out of the way, behold!" Searfall announced and ripped the towel off of Sona. Only when he had caught a glimpse of her naked had he seen more of her fair skin. But he had not been expecting this. She wore a top and bottom decorated with many colored flowers both pieces sized to fit her comfortably but not tight like some of the other people on the beach. Honestly it looked really good on her and was perhaps the most modest thing on this beach. "Wow, you look good." He said raising his voice ever so slightly so that it carried over the crowd. Saji was drooling from where he stood his eyes wide as doorknobs, while the rest seemed to agree that it looked very good.

Sona had frozen in place like a deer in headlights, but at his words she very slowly lowered her hands sending a glare at her sister before swallowing. "Y-you think so?" Her voice sounded like it would crack at any moment. He walked up to her putting his hands on her shoulders and shielding her from the sight of the others with his body.

"Yes, and" He spoke the next part quietly, "You are wearing perhaps the most modest thing on this beach save for Koneko. There is nothing to be ashamed of." Her mouth moved a few times before she gulped. "If you are feeling that bad I will take you back to your room and you can put on something more comfortable" Out of the corner of his eye he noted Serafall pouting. "But I would like to see you like this, I think you look good and I like it."

She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his chest taking in a deep breath then letting it go. "Ok." Her eyes open, nervous energy visible, but filled with the steel that was her core. She still had her arms clutched over her belly and abdomen and, at his look, whispered. "I...I've never worn anything like this before." The tone was almost one of apology.

"I did not notice." He teased.

"Mmmmm." She growled, moving on of her hands to lightly punch his stomach. He chuckled and stepped back. "So," She said a little stiffly, "What did I miss?"

"Well Kaichou," Tsubasa grinned, "We were waiting for you to play volleyball."

1

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1

Ichigo, Issei, Kiba and Saji found themselves on the sidelines as the girls went at it in a free for all volleyball match. Him, Issei and Kiba were pretty much next to each other while Saji had moved himself as far away as he thought Sona would not notice his learing….he was not very good at judging that, because she had, but Ichigo had waved it off and she acquiesced. Watching the game that had so much movement and jumping that even fracking Kiba seemed to give in and enjoy the view.

Issei had not turned his head since it started and when he spoke for the first time it remained locked on the game. "You do know that Saji is staring at your girl right?"

Ichigo did not need to even look to know that was the case. "I am aware he is staring at Sona." He put a gentle emphasis on her name.

Issei made a confused sound. "Well...what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing," Ichigo shrugged, "All he is doing is looking."

"But...but."

"What? Do you think this is the part of the anime where I go caveman and launch him into the distance with only a starlight twinkle to mark his passage?" He shook his head again "Sona is her own person, she chose me, I trust and her and her judgment." Most of the time but no one ever fully agreed on anything.

"Ok, that makes sense," Issei allowed, "But don't you feel jealous?"

"I am making an active effort to be neither that, nor possessive…" It was not really working, but so long as he did not act on the feelings he felt he was doing well.

"Well...do you want me to talk to him?"

He favored the boy with an amused look. "No, if that needs to be done I will find some way to do it. Besides if I was going to go at him for staring at my girl I would have to beat you up four times over."

Issei raised his hands. "Guilty, though I would argue that we are on a beach and they are in bikinis."

"And you would be correct to do so." Ichigo tilted his head as a ball whipped past his face smashing into the sand and flying off into the false sea. Sona made a gesture with her hand and the water batted the ball back to them for the game to continue.

"Dude, do you ever turn those senses off?" Issei asked, shaking his head.

"Sometimes," Ichigo replied, "But magic volleyball games are very dangerous."

Issei snickered. "Don't laugh," Kiba said, "He is not wrong."

"I know," Issei joked, "That is what makes it so funny. A month ago I would have never considered watching a dangerous volleyball game."

"Or talking with two lovely girls." Ichigo said.

The boy blinked for a moment. "Ya come to think of it, Ruruka and Momo are really fun people," He glanced around before whispering, "And they are hot." His smile wavered for a second. "The Shrink Rias has got me seeing says this will help me heal, talking to girls, making sure that I repeat in my head that they are not here to hurt or kill me and to be open about my experiences. Those two have been really kind helping me deal with that." He shrugged. "And I'm learning how to listen, how I don't have to be the one talking to make conversion."

Ichigo pondered his next words "Perhaps a sort of day out with them might help too. Not a date," He added, at the sudden panic that flared though the boy's eyes, "Just ask them to hang out when we all get back."

Issei took a few calming breaths before closing his eyes. "You think they would want to?"

Now he wanted to say that the worst they can say is no, but that was not what Issei wanted to hear right now. "Do you want me to ask them?" he said, echoing the boy's question.

Unlike him, given what he had been through, Issei considered the question. "No," He said after a moment, "If I want to do this, I will be the one to ask them." After a moment of thought. "Or one of them could ask me."

Ichigo made a mental note of that and turned his head to watch the last exchange, both sides had even points and this would be the one to decide it all. As ever it came down to Rias and Sona as they both leapt and hit the ball at almost the same time, the force sending a shockwave of power blasting the sand skyward in a hurricane of wind.

When the sand cleared the ball was fully deflated and hanging over the volleyball net half of it on one side, half on the other. He and Issei glanced at each other "How are we supposed to play next?" he asked. At his words the net split apart and the poles fell to the ground with a solid thud.

"Imagination?" Ichigo offered.

"I got it!" Inoue called.

1

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The battle of the boys was much simpler, it was him and Saji vs Kiba and Issei with Tsubaki as the ref. By mutual agreement they decided to only use their natural biology for this match, no magic, no flash step, no sacred gears. There was something primal about that, matching speed and skill on as close to an even playing field as possible.

"Ready and serve." The ref called.

Kiba did so with the same skill he did everything else and the ball sailed over the net, Ichigo tensed as he took a step back to return, that was when Saji came flying in front of him smashing the ball back over the net, Kiba caught it, gently knocking it into the air and Issei quick on the uptake spiked over the net, Saji just caught it in a diving save, tipping it back over the net where Issei hit it with more force than necessary sending it high into the air at almost directly at him.

Saji surged up and hurled himself for it, Ichigo had to side step him or risk collision. Nevertheless the boy missed the ball giving their opponents the first point.

Ichigo gave the boy a quizzical look and got a faint glare in return. The ball was served again as Saji threw himself about as if he was in a one man game, point after point going to the opponents.

There was very little cheering or speaking from the ones watching. Even to Issei and Kiba, I looked uncomfortable. In fact Saji was sure he was the only one who looked unaffected. It seemed Saji had chosen now to try and make his point whatever it was. Ichigo hoped it was not an attempt to impress Sona because their King's expression had slowly morphed from worry, to discomfort, and when the boy started running into him, pushing him out of the way to get the ball, it had bloomed into anger.

"Let him get it out of his system." He said through communication with Rias, who told Sona, thus bypassing Saji's link on Sona's communication. He was still unable to call on his Devil power so he could not change how the power worked. He knew you could do it, but was unable.

"This is not good," Sona replied, through her friend, "This is the kind of thing that could ruin a battle plan or get someone killed."

"You should wait until tomorrow when he has calmed down." He did not say that seeing her in a bikini might have been the catalyst, as she did not need to know or feel bad about that. He had no doubt in Saji's mind he had decided to get serious. Which was good for a few things, but also could have some...consequences. Sona having a talk with him alone in a bikini might not have the effect she wanted.

"She is thinking about it." Rias told him.

He nodded and stepped out of the way as Saji ran passed him to retrieve the ball. It flew into the air and Saji was a hint slow in getting up, with a gentle strength Ichigo sent it into the air perfect for the boy to get a spike and put them on the scoreboard.

Instead he just just glared at the ball like it had done something wrong and it hit the sand for another point. Before anyone could move to pick up the ball there was a sound and both turned as an enraged Tsubasa stalked up them. Saji blinked as she moved past her boyfriend reached out grabbing him by the neck and yanking him forward so he was nose to nose with her.

Ichigo opened his mouth, then closed it before he said anything, his danger sensor telling him to be still and quiet was the best course of action for his personal safety. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

"Uh..."

"Did you wake up on the stupid end of the bed this morning? Do you have any idea what game you are playing?"

"Well…."

"This is a team game you moron, T, E, A, M!" She said every letter. "I want to watch a fun game where I can enjoy what I see, you are ruining my and everyone else fun is that what you want?"

"No" he mumbled.

"Then find your balls, man the hell up and work with you fellow Peerage member, who you might be in combat with one day, am I under-fucking-stood?"

"Yes ma'am." Saji looked like he wished he knew how to shrink.

Tsubasa nodded, dropped him and kicked the ball back over to Issei and Kiba before stalking off the court, looking like she might burst into flames if someone looked at her wrong. Ichigo glanced at his teammates who naturally looked quite chagrined at the very public tongue lashing.

This time when the ball came Ichigo sent it into the air and Saji spiked it into the sand scoring their first point. He did not say anything nor did he look his direction, but, by the very nature of his teamwork, things got a little better. The fire in him had been doused, with no more dives or all out sprints, but they managed to get a few more points before Issei's team with its seven point advantage claimed the victory. "Well done" Ichigo said as he shook their hands. "You two did great."

"It was mostly Kiba," Issei scratched the back of his head, "I just sort of helped."

"Nope," Ruruka walked up, "You did good."

"She is right," Kiba said, "Much better than I thought you would do."

"Gee, thanks." Issei laughed.

"Well,.that was not as fun as I would have wished." Ichigo turned to the voice and put an arm over the speaker's shoulder.

"Well, thank you for straightening him out."

Tsubasa rolled her eyes. "I don't know what came over him"

"Kaichou in a bikini, if I had to guess."

"Oh dear," The Rook gulped, "He was trying to impress her?" They both looked at Sona, whose face was the manifestation of disappointment. When the both looked for Saji they caught a glimpse of Tsubaki leading him away from the group.

"Smart" he murmured, "I told her to wait a day because I did not think she would have the effect she wanted, but sending her Queen to do the talking…" He hummed. "The fact that she did not do it in person might convey her disappointment better than her words."

Tsubasa shrugged. "Perhaps, but it does get around what you think is the problem."

"You don't think I am right?

"I think," she paused for a moment, "I think this has been building up for a long time, and perhaps this day was the catalyst for it...but such a display was inevitable." She bared her teeth for a moment. "That he had to choose a sports game for it was my bad luck."

"Hey" he said pulling her closer, "I had fun, you had fun let's focus on that."

"I would, but Koneko is coming to take you away from me." She gave an exaggerated frown at said Rook making her way over to them. "I call second." Tsubasa muttered.

"My turn." Koneko said as she reached them taking his hand and moving to pull him along with her.

"So," he said after a few steps, "That big slide over there is the couples slide?"

She nodded, then shrugged. "It is big enough for two, so I don't see a problem calling it that." she glanced behind her. "I wonder how long it will take everyone else to show up"

"Probably about the time they see the fun we are having."

Her mouth quirked. "Sure, why not."

"What?"

She just shook her head. "Can you carry me there?"

"I would be happy to." He replied with just a hint of mischief, reaching down and grabbing her under her armpits he lifted her over his head much to the girls shock and sat her on the back of his neck with her legs hanging down over his shoulders.

"What?" she hissed.

"Piggy back," He replied, "My little sisters like it."

"What are you implying?" She growled.

"I thought you would like it." He said in all innocence. before hopping in the air slightly.

"Stop that."

He laughed at her red face and obliged, wrapping his arms around her small dainty legs. "Better?"

She did not answer for a few moments her cheeks puffed out in annoyance before she finally said. "it...it's nice to be tall."

"That's the spirit," he agreed, "Now let's go have fun."

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As it turned out, the slide was an interesting affair. Besides his girlfriends, who each wanted a turn with him, Akeno, Asia, Rias, Orihime and Nel all asked for a turn. Which raised some alarm bells in his head, thoughts that, on the surface seemed arrogant, but...well this sort of thing had happened before.

As the false sky turned to evening, it turned out the Rias's father had arranged for their dinner, though he still ate Orihime's Bento out of gratitude for the thought. Servers had brought out tables, drinks, a roasted pig, and all other sorts of dishes he had been told were part of a Luau, whatever that was. But to make a long story short, the food was absolutely amazing and every single member of the peerages ate till they were full to bursting. Doing so had slowed conversion immensely as the overindulgence hit them all. Ichigo counted himself lucky that his body was adjusting quite rapidly to the strain. They had all been brought comfortable matts to spread out on the beach. And, when asked, Rias had told them they were all going to spend the night under the false stars. Which sounded wonderful to the food clogged group. It was at that point Ichigo noted a person missing from the group. After a moment's thought he closed his eyes and found her soul in his mind's eye and slipped away from the preparations for sleep.

It only took about a minute, but the sound of the others had faded to a low din as he walked up to Akeno Himejima. The girl was still clad in that sexy swimsuit and with Devil night vision it was no issue to ogle her in it. The girl was laying on her towel, eyes upward though she spoke when he approached. "My my, a boy and a girl alone under a starry sky. What do you plan to do to me?"

He sat his ass in the sand beside her and shook his head. "Talk, if you want to."

"Oh?" She turned so she was leaning on her arm. "Why would you want to talk to little old me?

He shrugged. "You left the party and you were quiet at dinner. I wanted to know if something was wrong."

"Something's always wrong, Ichigo-kun, that is just life."

"Well, if you want to talk, I'm here to listen."

"Hmm." She drummed her fingers on her hip. "Remember when you asked me about why I only use half my power?"

"Yes."

"Well, that brought up a lot of unpleasant thoughts that have stuck with me over these days. I do not know if letting them out into this wonderful air would be good."

"I think it would be healthy."

Akeno huffed "You would...hmmm, I will tell you what. Issei told me about the game you two played, the 'ask a question for a question'. Not what you talked about, but how it made things easier, as if you were sharing rather than telling."

"Well," he nodded, "If that is what you want, ask away."

Her expression morphed into something different, it lost the playful teasing tone. "What was your mother like?"

That question hit him like a brick to the face and he had to give himself a moment to take in that statement. He stared at the Queen for a long time noting how she did not flinch from his gaze nor turn away. "She was a wonderful person, kind, caring, protective, happy, loving. I was not what you would call a confident person when I was little." His mouth curled up in a little half smile. "In fact I would say I was more like Asia when we first met her, in terms of attitude."

A low chuckle escaped Akeno. "I'm having trouble imagining that."

"I do too, now a days." Both their smiles vanished at the words.

"She was my mother, she was the best mother, she gave everything of herself to save me and I can only try and make sure that was worth it."

"From what you have told us, I think you have, I think wherever she is looking down on you from she is happy with what you have done."

That would have been a nice statement, but she was probably in Soul Society and, from what he understood, very few kept their memories and unless they were part of the Gotei 13 they could not see or affect the mortal world...but the thought was nice.

"Ok, so I'm going to go for the big one." he said

Akeno nodded. "Why do I not use my full power?"

"I think, why you only use half of yourself is a much better way of saying it."

The woman sighed, "There was once a woman, she was beautiful, strong, and caring. She was a Miko, a powerful Exorcist and genius of her generation. People would come far and wide with their spiritual ailments. She did not take money or other such forms of payment ..." Akeno paused as an amused expression flickered across her face. "Well, sometimes if there was a particularly good looking man she might tie him up and..." At his expression she left it at that and moved on. "But one day, as if by fate, she found in injured man on the grounds of the temple she worked at. Day and night she spent tending him, he was not her normal type, but there was something about the man that drew her to him. He was not like any other she had ever met, and even after she had restored him to health the man returned again and again. He wooed the woman with all the fine things of life and a few that were not of this world. The women fell in love and they were married, but this world does not like fairy tales so that was not the end. The man whom the women fell in love with was a creature not of this world, he was a Fallen Angel, one of the first, one of the founding members of the Grigori."

Akeno went quiet for a time and Ichigo waited as the sound of the lapping waves of the beach filled the silence. "The woman was a member of a powerful clan who, for reasons of their own, hated the fallen. So as you can imagine they did not take the lovers marriage well. They sent people to kill the man and take back their prized Miko, but not understanding until too late just who the fallen was, just how powerful he was until they had lost most of their powerful members. This action resulted in the eclipse of their power and, as humans do, they found a way to get their vengeance that was not direct."

She blinked rapidly, like he did when emotions threaten to spill out "They found a way to inform the Man's enemies of where he was and the weakness he had gained. When the man was gone from the woman those enemies attacked, the woman spent herself defending not her own body but that of the child she had, desperately hoping that her husband would return, that, like some fairy tale, he would arrive and save her." Her voice was so bitter, so vengeful. "The woman spent every last bit of her power to hide her child and when the enemies of her husband got through with her they killed her and tore her to pieces leaving her scattered across the place she had called home, a message to their hated enemy."

Her voice warbled slightly. "After they left, the human clan came and found the child, as she was only defended by the spells they had created. Such a thing was no barrier to them, they took the girl hoping for her to become the weapon by which they would ascend again. But what they got was a broken doll with nothing inside her, no will, no hope, nothing. After they found they could not use her they threw her out into the snow to die."

A dark amusement flashed across her face " But in doing so they perhaps did the child her greatest favor, in that cold, with neither food nor money, with no father to find and watch over her, she found the will to live, to live for the sake of living. The girl managed to do so, and one day as if by fate," she repeated the words in the same tone she had used before, "she met a Devil, and instead of killing her that Devil offer her a hand. The girl's clan, upon learning of her survival, attempted to kill the girl so that no others could make use of her, but that red haired Devil faced them down and with her Father's Bishop at her side, because, as it turns out, there are some fathers who act like fathers should, they made the clan back down. There was a cost, of course, the girl could not and will never return to the lands of her clan and will never leave the side of the Devil who saved her."

There was a flurry of emotions that were going through him and he could not imagine what was going through her head. It was a physical effort not to just stand up fly away, find and cut down the ones who had done such a thing to his family. "So because that girl will not acknowledge that man who abandoned them, the man who did not even look for a child he said he loved, because to use his power would make him aware of her." Akeno's teeth bared. "That is why the girl will not use his power."

Ichigo let out a long breath. "I see." He said.

"Good," Her voice had the veneer of forced cheer, "I guess it is my turn, then. Who was that white look alike you have inside there?" In his mind there was the sound of glass breaking and howling laughter.

"What?" After the roller coaster of emotions he had not been ready for that.

"When I tried to draw out your powers, I instead was drawn into you and very nearly drowned if such a thing possible where I was. Some paper white skinned clone of yours saved my life and kissed me quite thoroughly before sending me back to my body."

"W-w-why are you just telling this to me now?" He almost shouted.

"Answer the question, it is my turn." Akeno said, a flicker of real amusement crossing her face.

"It is my Inner Hollow and his name is White, or at least that is what I was told to call him. He is a piece of my soul, just like Zangetsu, though he takes the form of a mask when either I call on him or we synchronize."

"Ah, like back when you were threatening Rizer."

"Yes."

"I thought at one point I knew where he had come from, but I am less sure now. What I do know is that he is the," He hesitated, his cheeks turning red as he spoke, "He represents my purest instincts, without hesitation, without thought, without any care for the future."

"Fu,fu,fu, so your purest instinct is to kiss me?"

" _No,_ " His hollow's voice echoed. " _It was to bend her over the side of a building and have at her but the old man would not let me._ " 'I will deal with you later.' Ichigo thought with such vehemence that it actually shut the thing up.

"I am so sorry about that." He said.

"Don't be, it was fun." Akeno shrugged. "Your turn."

Ichigo took a moment to regain his focus. "Do you love Rias more than the girl hates that man?" He himself did not know how he felt about the man described the story. His brain told him that there had to be his side to all this, but his heart just hurt for his fellow peerage member.

"Of course" the answer was instant with no thought or hesitation

He nodded and gestured for her to speak. "Did you have a part of yourself you did not want to use?"

"You met him." Ichigo replied. "Let's just say I did not always have control over that side of me." he shivered. "To feel yourself lose control of your body, to drown in the will of something that is not you. The experience of it was enough to make me try and deny it, to push it away, but that only made the problem worse. It was not until i confriented it, until I took control of what was just part of me that I gained control."

" _Just to let you know King, We will be fighting again for control. As you have become different so have I."_ '...great.' He thought.

"Hmm." Akeno frowned in a pretty way at his words.

"This next one is a question I do not expect and answer for." He let out a breath. "Do you think you could bear it if one of us was hurt, or worse, if Rias had been chained to Riser, if Asia was attacked by the church," She was looking at him, hard now eyes flinty, "If they were hurt because you held back, because you had the power to stop them, but refused to use it. I understand trauma, perhaps not as deeply as you but I have had it all the same. With your power I think you could have beaten Riser yourself, that is how strong you could be. If I had not been there, what do you think would have happened?" She looked away as he continued. "If it was me. I would use every power at my disposal, every option." He froze.

Had he not been offered a change to grow in power. The offer was still there, the power was in his reach. A power wide and versatial that could do things he could not. The words he had just spoken could make a hypocrite of him. He stopped there and Akneo did not seem to notice he had been about to say more.

"I will...think on that." she said. "I promise nothing more."

"That," he found his voice, "Is all I ask."

Gods this had gotten real heavy, real fast. "You were almost killed by a fallen angel, would you accept fighting alongside one?"

"I have almost gotten killed by just about everyone that became my ally, that would be nothing new. Plus, I care about people, not what they are."

"Of course you would." A breeze blew across them gently moving her hair in the false moonlight.

"One last question from me, perhaps this one will not be as heavy, but I could be wrong."

Akeno sighed. "What is it?"

"What is um...your and Asia's relationship?" He raised his hands and added. "I don't need details I'm just wondering if I should be worried or not."

The Queen turned her head up to the false moon, an almost sad smile on her face. "We are friends first, but it is more than that. There are similarities in what we have faced. That builds an understanding and connection. Plus, you know how she is, her endless kindness, her will to heal and make better what she sees. And she has seen all of me, every part inside and out, the darkness that is there, the desire to hurt as I had been hurt. The part of me that wants to cry in a corner and never look at the light of again. That girl has seen me as me and did not look away."

Akeno put a hand over her heart. "And I saw what she was, I saw the parts of her that were similar and the parts that were different." She laughed "That girl is stronger than me in many ways. Not once have I seen her break under her own trauma. Many times I have seen her reach out for help if she needed it, more times have I seen her offer her hand to others. I suppose part of it is my desire, as a Devil that is part of everything, I want to have her strength and by keeping her close perhaps I will be able to understand and gain it. But I also love her for who she is, for what she is and for how she has helped me."

She laid down on the towel completely. "And I do my best to give her what she wants. There is a great deal about her that wants experience, sensation, love, intimacy, physical pleasure, all things that were denied her. We both gain much from this." She shrugged "Dependency or relationship, we both gain release both physically and mentaly, we both are starting to like the same boy or rather she has liked him since the beginning." Her eyes locked on him. "And I'm coming around."

His mind went blank as he prossed what she had said "W-w-w.."

"Yes," she answered his unspoken question, "Now, I would ask you to think about that while we are separated. When we meet again we should discuss what we have learned and decided."

"But, how does that work if you two are together?" He managed to get out.

"Oh child, we are Devils." She grinned a grin of pure evil. "That is not even close to the weirdest thing you will find in our history. And I honestly don't know what we are or how you would describe us. We have a bond, we have mutual lust, we both enjoy each others company, and we both have love of a kind for eachother" she paused for a moment "and we act on it and that is that."

His mouth only made garbled sounds, but she nodded as if he had made sense. "Good you understand." No, he did not.

How in the hell was he supposed to take this? Two more that saw something in him they wanted? A part of him wished he was human enough to reject the idea outright due to what he was already in, but that part of him gone. He released that with an almost startled epiphany, what went through his mind was the advantages, or the fact that he liked both of them and Asia was special to him. At the very least his mind was able to point out that he had some people to talk to first if there was going to be anything happening, all it would take was one of them to say no and all these problems would be solved ...right?

"Well, I think we better get back." Akeno stood and stretched, drawing his eye to how the moonlight played off her body. She held out a hand and hauled him up. "Before we start any rumors." She looked to his eyes. "You have one more question don't you?" He shook his head. "Liar."

"It is not important."

"Hmm."

He looked away because he did not want to change her guessing the stupid question that had no variance on this situation. He did not, and would not, need to know why, if given all that she had said about her and Asia's...thing, did there seem to be an aspect of Domination and Submission. Now his mind was happy to play any number of pictures that thought brought up, but the last thing he wanted to dwell on it or worse get an answer. "Thank you Akeno." He said both as the truth and away to turn his mind. "For being willing to talk with me."

"And thank you Kuorsaki, for speaking your mind." That smile flashed over her face again. "The fact that I was able to talk about that makes me think that Asia is rubbing off on me a bit." She let out a sigh. "And that is a good thing."

"No doubt." He answered as together they walked back into the light and to their friends.

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Ichigo was awoken by a hand on his arm, he did not start awake because he recognized the soul of the one touching him. He did not know how long he had been asleep, but looking around all seemed the same as when he had, they were all close together sleeping on their mats, the two peerages jumbled together. Below him Asia and Akeno were sleeping on the same mat, with Rias on one side of them and Tsubaki on the other. At the four corners of his mat Sona, Tsubasa, Koneko and Serafall had taken the spots. Saji was next to Sona though a glare from her had moved him back a few feet. Momo and Ruruka were close to Issei's mat which was adorable. Tomoe had been somewhere in the middle but in the night had rolled or moved in her sleep until her head was across Tsubaki's leg. Kiba was near them and Reya had taken the spot next to him much to Tsubaki's annoyance.

That had been building up all day, Kiba had somewhat diffused it by going on the big slide with her, after Ichigo had gone with all of his girlfriends, then Akeneo, Asia, Orihime, and Rias. Kiba had gone with Reya and Tsubaki, Sona had turned down Saji and after Momo and Ruruka had made what seemed like one last attempt to reach out to the boy and were turned down Issei had offered to go with them like a gentleman. Though he had admitted to them that being able to hold them as they went down the slide was a big bonus. Oddly that seemed to help his standing with them, perhaps the fact that he was being so blunt about how attractive he found them was something of a novelty after trying to get Saji's attention for what must have been almost a year?

Anyway, he focused on the one touching his arm as Serafall leaned over him a finger on her mouth. She pulled him up in absolute silence and he barely paused to question as they lifted up into the air and glided away from the sleeping group. He decided to simply wait and see what this girl had in mind as they reached near the edge of the room and landed quietly on near the end of the beach.

Serafalls' pink eyes shimmered with mirth as she looked him up and down. "I think today went well." She said, her voice low.

He returned her gaze taking in her moonlit skin, the small, almost fragile, striped bikini just barely hiding her body from his gaze. She had undone her hair which spilled down in a single dark wave that seemed to absorb the false moonlight into its depths. His body, on the other hand, was lean and hard his tanned skin a repellent contrast to the moonlight, for a moment he questioned as to why this beauty would want someone like him.

"You did well today you know."

He blinked. "What?"

"All of us lovely ladies, dressed in our sexyiest." Her mouth quirked. "I can imagine how pent up you must feel." He gulped as his mind informed him of several distinct possibilities that could be happening right now. "So I feel it is only right to help you a little." She moved forward and shoved him hard and his ass hit the sand as she landed on top of him hands on his shoulders staring down.

His mouth did not work for a second. "Levi-tan I..."

"Shush," she said, "There are things you can do that are not sex, you know that, right?"

Oh...oh!

"I know you want to wait until the time's right and that's fine." She leaned down to whisper in his ear. "I like that idea. However, is it so wrong to have a little fun?"

"Y-You really sound like a Devil now:"

"I know." her face was an inch away from his. "But are you going to stop me?"

"No." He replied, getting the sensation that single word was the wisest thing he had said all year.

Serafall let out a shuddering sigh of pure delight. "Then, Ichigo Kurosaki," She used his full name. "Listen to teacher." And their lips met.

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 **And Serafall charges past her opponents sliding into Third base with ease, who would have thought the six hundred year old woman will much more experience and maturity would have made such a move, if the audience was awake they would be raging. What will happen next week? Who will reach third, who might be the first to reach home? Find out eventually one day on DXD!**

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 **Ok fun time over.**

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 **So I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as for having it end on that note, I am doing that because I am not sure if it would be a good idea to post lemons or almost lemons on fanfiction. I have seen it done a lot but the rules do say that you are not allowed, hell some of the stuff in this story might push the line.**

 **So if anyone is interested in the details as to what happened to Ichigo and Serafall I will be posting the short story to (** _ **An Archive of our own**_ **) under my username there ( fanboy913 ) and you can look it up and read if you want.**

 **Just a fair warning I have never written anying hardcore that I have published so expect...well I will just come out and say it, it is probably bad. But without practice, how will you grow better?**

 **Anyway if you don't want to read it and want to use your imagination feel free.**

 **With that out of the way on to the comments of the week.**

 **P.S I am so sorry Saji-kun I feel so bad for you and what I am doing to you, don't worry your future is bright though it does not head where you want it to.**

 **(Gods I am such a dick to this boy and I feel so bad)**

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 **First out of the bag is one that really read me the riot act about what he found distasteful about my story. Which takes up about eight pages so I will only be using answering a few of the excerpts.**

 **Archleone**

 **First (** **Much as I like this story, the frequent "Ichigo is not a boob man, he likes thighs and butts" and "thank god there's a guy who isn't a boob man" stuff is really stupid and annoying.)**

 _ **I would argue that in the spirit of dxd it is quite important to have your thing, Issei gets superpowers from his. But I can see where you are coming from and as a person myself, I agree with the idea that every part of a woman is beautiful. Now most people have things that attract them to others at first and sometimes it is as simple as boobs and butts sometimes it is not. I started this whole Ichigo likes butts thing because it was and is to me a fun contrast to Issei that is why it is there. I am not and do not have any far ranging plans to force the users of fanfcion into a legion of butt men and women…..I am not that popular.**_

 **(I'd recommend removing the instance of it in this chapter and avoiding it in the future.)**

 _ **I will not, if I have written something and it is not factually wrong such as when I had Sona offer Orihime a Bishop forgetting that she did not have one. I changed it to a knight after being informed by several kind reviews,**_

 _ **By the way, if any of you see such mistakes, feel free to tell me.**_

 _ **But anyway If I put something down I will keep it there because it helps me grow even if I was wrong to do so. Mistakes are what help us move forward and I am not convinced this is a mistake yet but who knows the future.**_

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 **The bit about Ichigo not being a boob man isn't just weird, it feels like unnecessary filler. Or possibly an attempt to try and force the idea that Serafall constantly has sex on the brain which also gets old. You should avoid making your character just be one or two traits.**

 _ **I like to think I have given serafall more than two traits, and it was supposed to feel odd, she was stressed and had trouble focusing on anything. It happens at the end of long meetings and your mind wanders.**_

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 **I also kind of wanted to dispute the statement about how you need to be "at least somewhat serious about someone to trigger possessive thoughts" because that's not even close to being true.**

 _ **From some people you would be right, for some you would be wrong, everyone is different and in Anime we have even more leeway especially if different races with different morals and ideas are involved.**_

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 **I'd also complain about how super thirsty Ichigo's reaction to the kiss was, but I guess that was kind of the point….he went from "wow" to "damn" to "fuck" in a sentence or two. A simple "Damn." followed by a less thirsty-sounding reaction might have worked better..**

 _ **To that first part, yes, that was the point, Ars Goetia has some interesting information about what kind of family powers the 72 have. The Sitiri one is fun and I will leave it at that for now.**_

 _ **As for the second part I will think on what you have said about writing as I always do when people talk about the craft.**_

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 **I don't particularly enjoy dead villains coming back to "life", so I don't really approve of Aizen existing anymore in any form.**

 _ **You might not be caught up on the manga Aizen is not dead, just sealed away really, really, really hard by the Goto 13.**_

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 **Ichigo telling Orihime to come to his room whenever she's lost even if he's with someone is a risky maneuver.**

 _ **Yes it is lol.**_

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 **As for more basic nonsense, there's definitely a few instances here and there where you used the wrong "there" or "their" and "your" or "you're".**

 _ **That is my fault, I such balls at spelling and english it has always given me trouble but I am much better than when I started which should tell you something about how bad I was if what you see now is bad.**_

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 _ **I was personally not really a fan of the yuri moments because they seem strange and gratuitous in such a way that it doesn't really offer anything to the story**_

 **Asia and Akeno have...an interesting thing they both have holes(not that kind you perverts =) in their lives that each other fills. The have simmler trama, they have they each have strengths the other lacks. In my mind this was fun to do and if you do not like I am sorry.**

 **As for the future, with the way herams work in my fanfiction interpretation of the dxd universe some will happen.**

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 **Meeting the parents will be a special kind of chaos. I guess he lucked out meeting the Gremory family before anything has happened between him and Rias. If anything will happen between him and Rias. Something should definitely happen between him and Rias. And Akeno.**

 _ **Well we will have to see in the future, Akeno make her place quite clear this chapter and who knows what Mama Gremory asked of Ichigo….=)**_

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 **Hollowichigo12**

 **I love the relationship between Serafall and Ichigo. They just seem to click and get along really well.**

 **On a side note I don't think Ichigo will ever be able to look at his father the same way again after this chapter. Aside from the obvious cringe of watching his parents having sex and his birth, it was actually quite funny to read.**

 **I do wonder how Ichigo will react to seeing Kuroka and her reasons for doing what she did. I feel like Ichigo will understand her reasons better than most ever will.**

 **I do so look forward seeing Ichigo and Nel appear on Serafall's show and what it will be like. I feel like his family, more specifically his sisters should be able to watch it when it happens.**

 _ **You just might be right about Kuroka after all we saw what he did to Bleach Hell when they took his sister. As for Serafalls' show well we will just have to see when we get to it.**_

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 **Revan1989**

 **There is also one other point I'm wondering about...the devils know Ichigo for a while now. They have never seen him seriously fight, not even in the rating game. However he has shown enough that at least a few of them should have figured out he is the strongest among both Sona's and Rias' peeerages (including the kings). The Maou's should have realised he is quite powerful as well.**

 **So what I'm wondering about is this: Will anyone ask him how strong an opponent needs to be to force him to use a technique that sacrifices his powers? Or just a demonstration of how strong he actually is? (A manifested White would probably be willing to act as a sparring partner for that)**

 _ **Some of the Maou's suspect, Ajuka knows that he is at least the level of a Captain due to him knowing the limit on his sensing device (Wonder who made that lol) now he would not know the term Captain but does know it puts him up with Ultimate Class devils. But given his infinite potential that surprises no one, as for that last part Ichigo himself does not want to talk about that, it is still somewhat of a wound for him.**_

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 **Someone Important**

 **Make Koneko the Main Harem**

 _ **Ok make Koneko learn shadow clone jutsu got it.**_

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 **Adalhard.9889**

 **Only Aizen can make "Hi I am a creepy stalker that was watching the wedding night of your parents and the day you were born" sound mysterious and powerful, loved the interactions between them and ohw Aizen is trying to build bridges in his own weird way.**

 _ **That should be a show "Only Aizen" but like you said he is trying and would argue that he was not being creepy he was being through.**_

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 **Demzerff1**

 **I like a lot about this chapter but Serafall takes the cake.**

 **This is literally my favorite version ever since she has so much character to her and I love that she isn't slutty but more so confident in her sexuality.**

 **There is the perfect blend of her silly persona and the grown woman that she was forced to be.**

 **Most importantly she is showing just the right amount of restraint towards ichigo.**

 **Right now I feel a good deal of anticipation towards the more lewd activities she wants from him given the relationship they have built till now and I don't feel like she is rushing or going too slow.**

 **The whole thing is moving at a suitable rate and I love it.**

 **Sona is adorable in her desire for a classic date and I can't wait for it since that will finally open the door for more silly fluff with her and ichigo.**

 **I love koneko too since she has the right amount of desire too. One has to remember that till now she hasn't had interest in anyone but now she does have someone so not only are normal teen hormones going out of control but her own devil instinct is working against her.**

 **Even so it is cute to see her clinging so much. She knows her body isn't like the others except many sona but she sure makes up for it in personality.**

 **I kind of like the idea of akeno and asia since it is interesting to see her get kind of corrupted but also not.**

 **Though I truly wonder where that will go.**

 **Wonder if we will get to see the panther anytime soon.**

 **Thanks for the great chapter!**

 _ **Glad you like it, this is the Serafall I was going for and I hope to be able to keep doing her right and with more than two traits. Serafall is Serafall, one of the most powerful beings in the world and she wears magical girl costumes to a god meeting. Man I love characters like that.**_

 _ **The Sona thing felt right with me given what I know of her and Koneko is going to have an interesting time and lets leave it at that.**_

 _ **And as I have said the Asia, Akeno thing was something I thought would be fun to do and a nice twist on dxd fanfiction.**_

 _ **P.S are you talking about Grimmjow with the panther comment?**_

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 **Copperus**

 **So I really like the dynamic of the Sitri family, and I don't know if I just missed it before but I like the Sitri parent's dynamic. It is very similar to Beyond the Outer Gates Lies… A high school library? By Xavon Wrentaile and I thoroughly enjoyed it there too.**

 **It shows relationships beyond the 1 guy all girls relationships that most harem type stories have.**

 _ **Man I love that fanfic, and I hope it gets updated soon but I of all people understand when you just have to stop. Still I highly suggest people look for it and the story that inspired it if you people want top tier awesome fanfiction. Gabriel Blessing, Xavon Werntaile, and Coeur Al'Aran (Rwby Fanficion writer) are all what I consider the one percent of fanfiction and I cannot recommend them enough. Perhaps I will one day in the far future be on their level.**_

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 **Comment** **of the Week**

 **Aesir19**

 **I have been thinking since I read the chapter when it came out, wondering if Venelana could become the "mother" figure in Ichigo's life. We all know how important Masaki was to Ichigo and while Venelana could never replace her. Venelana could fill an important void in his life for the story, one that probably isn't touched upon too often in other stories.**

 **Irrespective of whether Rias becomes one of his girlfriends or not, as a member of a Gremory he will always be considered family.**

 _ **This is an idea I had not considered and given some future events might make for some compleacted fun. Thank you for this thought, and for that you have achieved the**_ _ **comment**_ _**of the week.**_


	26. Chapter 26

**Thank you to Aroneden for your proffreading and without further ado here is the chapter.**

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The world outside of father's paradise was one of hardships. Together he and his father walked the dust covered streets looking like aliens in their simple, but fine garments. His father bore his soul weapon at his side, a simple brush of black and white, yet it was perhaps the strongest weapon of their people. His father had mentioned a similar ability manifesting in someone else, one which was focused on a single aspect and without the limits of speed and time his father required for true change.

He himself bore no weapon, at his father's command he had never touched a weapon of the soul. Those who took them up after the fall of their god were bound to the central committee and such a weakness could not be allowed. Of course his abilities made such a tool unnecessary. Not that he expected danger, at least on the street. The only people visible were the young children, the very old, or the infirm who could not be used for the war effort. While he felt sorrow for the people of this realm, he had none for the nation as a whole. This was a disaster of their greed, desire for power and fear of the cycle of death and rebirth.

They received stares as the moved, himself a teen not conscripted, his father with the appearance of a man at the end of his prime. Had they been anyone else they would be on some hopeless battlefield facing the Greek and Norse pantheons, or warring with the Shinto for the rights of souls. Many of the infirm glared hatred at them, having nothing else to spend it on.

From the shadows eyes watched them. Small, hungry, nearly feral packs of young children, forged harshly by the world they knew, searching for weakness. They would not find one, of course, or at least not if they were as cunning as their lives seemed to require. The fact that no one made a move was proof of that. "Do not judge them so, my son."

He reminded vigilant, but turned his head to acknowledge his father. "I do not judge them, they, like I, are the product of their environment. The only judgment I feel is to the ones that, in their own greed, caused this farce." The street emptied at a truly astounding rate as his words seemed to echo through it.

There was a sigh "Why do you do this, my child?" His father had a note of disapproval in his voice.

"A selfish wish father," their footsteps moved in time as, in the distance, a steady jog was heard, "I wish to see what these divisions were made of."

His father closed his eyes, but said nothing more on the matter, because the only sound now was the stomping of feet. "They have quite the admirable system of information." He added.

The father raised a finger to point at several faintly glowing lines of script written into several out of the way areas around them. "Keyed to words and phrases, activated by sedition as the committee determines." He shook his head. "They chafed at the slight bonds of loyalty demanded by our god and now they demand absolute loyalty after he is gone. They raved at the power he held over us when he only used it with the utmost care and now they decide life and death at the slightest resistance." His father closed his eyes. "They murdered their god, they murdered your mother, and they demand I serve them?" Spirit power pulsed at the words, the vast power held in mortal guise leaking out for the briefest of moments.

"Halt!" A voice called behind them. Four men in black robes, armed each with a blade of soul steel emerged. Emotionless white masks likened to the monstrous Hollow adorned their faces.

"They seek to cause fear in their enemies by wearing the guise of those we were created to destroy." His father's voice was one of polite interest.

"You two," The one in front stalked forward, "for the crime of sedition and possible treasonous actions against the protectors of this new Soul Society you are commanded to surrender and face the judgment of the divisions!"

His father went quiet. This was his mess and the boy was more than happy to fix it. "Well then, perhaps we will save you some time. We are headed to Central right now to meet with your lords and petty dictators." The four seemed frozen in shock, he doubted anyone had spoken to them thus in decades. "So we will be on our way, if you wish to escort us, then I suppose that might be proper for ones of your station."

The man moved in a blur, drawing his soul weapon, green light shrouding it as his power erupted. The boy raised his arm. The years of training with his father, the man's uses of his power to grant insight, and the simple application of pure hard work had led to many wondrous discoveries. Methods of using his power to great and marvelous effect. He raised his hand, letting the power of his soul flow through his physical veins, thus allowing it to follow them to the skin. The soul weapon crashed into the back of his hand and stopped dead in a scream of metal on metal. With a contemptuous flick he sent the blade flying out of the man's numb hands and skittering into the shadows of the street. Moving forward he twisted and struck the man with his palm, drawing the power away from his skin and into his muscles. The blow, held back as it was, still caused a crunching sound and sent the man sprawling his eyes rolled back into his head.

The three reacted with commendable training, each reaching for their swords with only a moment of hesitation. But it was long enough for him to grab one of them and, his muscles still empowered, he hurled that one away from the other two, sending them into a headlong tumble before they smashed into a wall and lay still. As one of the two remaining brought out his blade in a perfect draw and cut attack and the other reached out with a hand to keep him from dodging the blow the boy blurred and vanished from between them forcing the one grabbing at him to desperately yank his blade up to block his fellow's attack.

The blocker only had a moment to register shock before feeling a hand on his shoulder and a surge of well deserved panic as he found himself airborne and not slowing at all. The remaining one completed taking out his blade and backed away, weapon held at the ready. The boy nodded at him and turned away walking back to his father and then past him, the man followed his son as the last attacker stared in confusion and was held in place for a few moments. Then he surged forward after them, taking two steps before smashing head long into a shield of pure spiritual energy, bouncing off it and falling to the ground. With a casual flick of the boy's finger threads of spiritual power latched onto the man and with a mighty effort still aided by the power infusing his muscles the mans was hurled off his back and slammed into a wall hard enough to dent it before slumping to the ground in a heap.

After a few paces the father asked. "What did that accomplish son?"

"It tells me that even the enforcement group they have is quite well trained. Considering their propagation of all out war economy this almost seems at odds with their philosophy, but could speak to the lack of real control they feel. Two, their surveillance is more extensive and sensitive than I realized. Three, I have made a point. You are not alone, I stand with you father."

He could sense the pride war with the despair in the man. Neither said anything else as they walked, passing from the lower district to the residences of the nobility. The change was utterly stark, greenery, light, clean walls, no one walked the streets here, staying within the safety of their compound walls, buffered from the war by their bribes, industrial and political might. Every single family here had been part of, or complacent in, the death of their god. They had reached for power only to find themselves currying the favor of many rather than one who cared for them.

Shadows moved around them, a dozen of the enforcement arm of the committee. They only watched, perhaps now aware of who they were and where they were going. "What is the point of this father, you are going to tell them in person what you have told them since the beginning."

The words hung in the air as the boy waited. "Destiny will be fulfilled, one way or another, and it can take many routes." Was his only answer.

The building of the central committee, what had once been the palace of the lost and forgotten souls, dominated the skyline. The boy let out a breath. "I wish I knew what you meant father."

"No, my child, you do not."

1

1

1

Ichigo blinked the vision fading into pure black. "Ah, you're back."

His shoulders hunched as he forced his visceral reaction to the voice out of his body. His words to Akeno echoing in his head, as if to mock him. "If it was me, I would use every power at my disposal." And here he was with a man who had offered him a path of power he had not considered.

"Aizen."

"Ichigo."

Now that he thought about it this was easy. "You offered something, what do you want in return?"

"What I want you could not, or would not, give me. I only wish for the conversation and the joy of teaching."

"Liar." He said calmly.

"Hmmm..." Ichigo turned to face the bound man. "You sound so sure of that."

"You have never had any less than three motives for doing anything."

The man smiled, amused. "So simple, yet you see more clearly than most." That was not true and he knew it. "I ask you, Ichigo Kurosaki, what do you think I want...besides the obvious?"

"That is just it, how would I even begin to guess?"

"From you, for now, I only seek mental stimulation. Perhaps, in time, I might be able to use it for more. Perhaps I even have some ideas, but you have shown I can't keep you here if you do not wish to stay."

Ichigo Kurosaki stared at the man who had almost killed him… But then again how many of his own allies had done smaller, but similar, acts? And what could Aizen do? He was not sure how, but he was not arrogant enough to think that there was nothing the man could accomplish. At least he seemed limited here. Or was he? This could all be a trick. Yet some instinct told him it was not, some still small voice whispering that this, at least, was no trick.

"How do you plan on teaching me like that?" In response to his query the blackness vanished into what looked to be a school room, desks formed into existence around him, a chair materialized under him, pen and paper set neatly in front of him. He glanced around as more chairs and desks appeared. The seats themselves began to fill with people ...with people he had seen before. Nel in her adult form, The other female espada he had never heard the name of, Yourichi, Orihime, Rangiku, the medical captain, her lieutenant and perhaps a dozen other women that he did not know. They had several things in common, to lesser or greater degrees they were all well endowed, they all had killer figures, and they were all dressed in a parody of school girl outfits. Shirts too small and unbuttoned to show a great deal of décolletage, the shirts were cut off at the middle to show their bellies, the skirts were on the mini side of mini, each wore six inch heels that seemed utterly out of place and to top it all off, each wore a seemingly random colored thong.

"What the hell are you...?!"

Aizen's voice cut across his smoothly, with an almost effortless ease of a trained orator. "The first part of any training into the magical arts, is focus. Being able to block out distractions, to put your mind to work at its fullest extent. Hence, these distractions, which I know you will have trouble dealing with," he nodded at the group, "Class is in session."

The women who had been frozen In place began to move. "What the hell did you do?"

"This is the world of dreams, Mr Kurosaki, if you know the proper technique..." His eyes made a dismissive gesture as the female espada stood and, Ichigo noted the name on her desk, Tia Halibel sauntered past him, giving quite the eyeful. The idea that these were just figments, that the lifelike breath, the natural movement of skin and a thousand other things that kept his embarrassment down to a minimum. The only thing that kept it from being fully realized was that he knew these were not real.

"Attend." Aizen said as Halibel picked up a piece of chalk. "Thank you, Tia." The figment nodded and began to write. "We will have to start with the basics and perhaps we will be lucky and you will learn this art as fast as your learned the sword." The figments around him seemed to just turn on and slight murmurs, movements and other things that told the mind this was a classroom started. It was very creepy in how not creepy it was. He did not know where to put his eyes.

"Kido are the techniques developed that can be universally used by Shinigami to manipulate their spiritual powers. They were based off of the study of the phenomena that are Zanpakuto and the unique abilities they held. This study graduated into a field of connective and contributive work in which Masters would spend centuries collecting, distilling, and studying the manipulation of Spiritual energy until a unified system was developed after the end of the Quincy Wars." At the front of the class Tia made a few notes on the blackboard to help. "To cast a Kido requires the precise control and regulation of your Reiryoku while simultaneously transforming your Reiryoku into the proper form desired through a process encoded in symbolic incantations."

Ichigo raised his hand then caught himself remembering that he was not in a class and was in the world of dreams learning from one of the most terrifying being he had even known. "You have a question, young man?"

"I need you to break down what you just said, please."

Azien nodded and the figment of Tia began to write faster rising to her tiptoes to show off a white thong against her brown skin. Ichigo glared at Aizen who shrugged. "Part of learning control is filtering out distractions, now to answer your question. The first part of Kido is precise control, depending on what you wish to accomplish, you need to be able to regulate your Reiryoku. For example, the Bakudo #1 Sai, which I believe was used on you." There was an image of Rukia trapping his arms behind his back. "If you were to do that, you would tear the person in half. Kido, like anything else, acts depending on the power used. This is the reason why people of your power start in this area alone. Now, as for the second part, throughout the history of the Kido art the various spells have been created, codified and distributed by each generation. Though the use of poems or phrases, each word, each letter with a symbolic connection to the desired result was painfully mastered, in order that they might be brought together under the same system and be taught and passed down to other generations."

Aizen paused and waited for Tia's notes to catch up "That symbolic connection to the act desired is an interesting field of study in and of itself. For example, as a shinigami speaks the words of power over and over again, they themselves become attuned to the spell they are casting. This phenomena results in the ability to cast Kido without the prerequisite incantation. Now should such a person use the incarnation anyway the power of the spell is increased by an order of magnitude."

Ichigo did his best to focus on what the man was saying and not all the distractions he had put around him, which was getting much harder as the figments seemed to be drifting closer. "Does that answer your question?"

He nodded, grimacing as something brushed against his back. "Are the name and number part of this...symbolic connection."

"Good question! The name of the Kido is the most important part of the incarnation, the number is just for clasificacion, though due to the soul society's teaching methods they often become inexorably intertwined." He shrugged. "This is not a bad thing, the number helps you imagine the amount of power, separate the various spells in your mind, make the image you want to form clearer and easier so there is little harm and great benefit, it is why I never broke the habit of using them."

Ichigo took a moment to contemplate the words and his position losing his train of thought for a moment as Yourichi sauntered across his vision. "This is going to take a long time."

"It is," Aizen agreed, "Thankfully, now that you are not fighting my influence here, I am allowed a bit of leeway with how time flows here. So, with that out of the way, please attend, Kurosaki Ichigo."

1

1

1

His eyes opened to a false dawn, Ichigo took a moment to breath, letting his mind do a mental check. He felt more rested than he had any right to be, apparently he had been given enough time for his active brain to rest after his...new cram school. Speaking of which, when he opened one eye he was greeted by the sight of his stupidly annoying morning wood, it seemed that despite...last night's fun it seemed twenty four hours surrounded by those...figments had made his body decide he was recharged and ready. Thankfully, luck was on his side today, no one was awake, no one was even stirring. Gently standing up Ichigo moved out to the cold water and walked into it, making as little noise as possible.

Biting back a curse he lowered himself fully into it, holding his breath and counting to twenty. When he came up the chill of the false breeze united with the water and settled his body down rather nicely. He stayed in the water for ten whole minutes, letting himself float on the gentle currents before leaving to dry and go about his morning routine with a few extra additions. He cut out some of the extraneous exercises to make room for his new homework...homework from Azien...what in the fuck was he doing taking homework from Aizen?

"Being a moron, that's what." He mumbled.

There had to be something that man was planning, something that he was missing, but he would be damned if he could think of what it was. He had three tasks that Aizen had given him on controlling spirit power, he had been given dream lessons and practice, but the power there was not real and completely based on whether you thought it would work on, such was the way of dreams. First was trying to fully contain his own Reiryoku in his body for ten seconds at a time, repeating this action for ten minutes total. Then came directing his Reiyoku through his hand in a stream rather than let it leave his body naturally and third, a variation on the spirit walk, balancing on different body parts and not falling.

The first was hard, really hard. It was something that the average student at the shinigami academy did with ease, but as a being of such immense spiritual force the process was almost painful, like trying to block a fire hose with his hand. Part of his Bankai's power seemed to do this for him when he had it active, which was something to think about as to how that would affect Kido while in that form. But he would not know for a while, now was not the time to use Bankai, it, like his Shikai, had a proper time to be released, he knew that without a doubt.

One thing he quickly learned about holding in his power was that when done without whatever method his Bankai used it was quite painful. It started small, but built over the seconds quickly. He could only hold it for five seconds right now, pushing through the pain he could do the entire ten seconds, but trying to control his ridiculous spiritual power felt next to impossible. Of course that was just the fact that he had never really tried this before. The focusing one went better, channeling his Reiryoku was almost second nature, the hard part was pushing it out of one place, which was where the first practice came in. You had to do the same thing, but leave an area where it could be released. This he was able to do, granted it sent sand spinning or bent the palm trees slightly when he focused it through his palm. Lastly was balancing on his hands while he used the spirit walk under then to keep himself aloft.

That involved more falling than he would have liked to admit, and that was when he realized he was not alone. He had just found his balance again and opened his eyes to find pink ones very close to his. "Morning." Serafall Leviathan said, while visions of what they had done last night filled his head, the distraction causing him to topple as he lost concentration. Her small yet strong arms caught him and flipped him upright with a casual ease and his feet touched sand before she used her body to steady him.

She laughed and the lovely sound blended well with the false sounds of the ocean. "Morning." he replied, not even trying to act cool. He kissed her gently as a feeling of relaxed calm settled over him. She returned it just as gently and that brief moment of connection made all the stronger by what had gone between them last night… well, like many things it was the first time he had felt such a sensation in his life. "You're up early."

Serafall leaned her head against his chest and let out a sigh. "I have to go to work," She pouted, "It sucks."

He reached up and put an arm around her head. "Well, it is very important work." He pressed his face into the top of your head. "I would offer to help, but you don't what to see what happens when I do diplomacy."

She snorted. "No, I think not. And you are right, but it still sucks." He did not have any advice for an actual job so he did what he could and held her for as long as she wanted. However it was not that long because this woman, who had chosen him, was a Maou for a reason. "Well," She sighed as she gently took a step back, "Better get ready for work." There was a flash of light as her swimsuit vanished giving him a view, which he gladly took in, as she spun in the air, her chest wobbling in a distracting manner and her ass passed very close to his face. He glared at her knowing she had done that on purpose. Levi-tan, now dressed in a proper business outfit, stuck her tongue out at him winked. "You know I'm going to get jealous if you keep doing that, knowing that on your show you do the same thing."

"Hold on to that," She smiled, "as you get older it will be harder and harder to reach that emotion."

Ichigo tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Jealousy. It's an emotion that is very hard for Devils to hold onto for any length of time. It's what helps with the various harems and peerage relationships. Once someone has been accepted into a group, the members of said group will find it harder and harder not to simply feel jealous, let alone act on it. Though it sticks around longer in the reincarnated, it also fades with time and not much time at that." She shook her head. "Look at me wasting time." She kissed him lightly on the lips and whispered. "Goodbye." Before vanishing in a flash of snow.

He stood there, frowning down at the pile of rapidly melting snow, trying to process what she had just told him like it was no big deal. Most humans, most mortal creatures, hell, most immortal creatures felt jealous as a matter of course. Why would the Devils, as a species, develop traits that suppresses or lessened that emotion? It helped explain how a harem might work, but did that include envy as well or was it only jealousy in context of relationships. Did it count when it came to something like wealth? Had the race been designed to have large relationships, and if so, were the ones in single relationships outliers?

These thoughts filled his head as he went back to his exercises, this had been something important. He had learned something important, yet what did it mean and what was he missing.

1

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1

Breakfast was, of course, amazing as both peerages showed up, showered and dressed were treated to a meal from a dozen cultures from across the human world. "Morning Inoue." He said as he moved passed Sona's peerage. He had told everyone and they all knew he was going to sit with Rias's group since they would be parting today.

Inoue made a choking sound, followed by a loud *meep*, her face flashing though several colors of crimson, beside her Nel looked up concerned. "Are you ok?"

The girl coughed before nodded. "Sorry, I'm fine. You just surprised me Kurosaki-kun." He tried to meet her eyes, but she kept looking away. At one point she her eyes passed over his hips and she made another sound and turned. "I'm really hungry right now." She nearly hyperventilated getting those words out.

'Shit, what did I do?' He thought, trying to pull out what had gone on between them yesterday. She did not seem mad, but Inoue mad was such a rare sight that it was almost mythical among their friend group. This was not it, perhaps embarrassment, but why?

He took his seat next to Koneko and Asia, noting that Issei was off to one side at a smaller table with Ruruka and Momo. "So, there we were, facing down the heretic priests and suddenly Akeno-Senpai comes down from the sky and waves her hand," he moved his hands around in the air, "And hits them with lighting so hard the ground turned into glass."

Smiling, Ichigo reached out and filled his plate. "How was your sleep?" He asked both the girls beside him.

"Amazing," Asia said brightly, "The sound of the ocean put me to sleep faster than the sisters' hymns."

Koneko nodded. "It was quite pleasant." She paused and turned her head, nose twitching. After a moment she got up and leaned closer, sniffing around his face and neck. There was a moment of pause before she opened her yellow eyes. "You smell like Serafall-San." He paused for a moment, then nodded as the small girl gave him a hard once over sniffing around his head and chest. "Hmmm..." She gave him a look before sighing and pulling back. "Oh." She pouted, her cheeks puffing out. "That's not fair, I was here first."

"It's not a race and we did not go all that far."

"And how far is that?"

Asia had gone quiet listening with rapt attention. Thankfully with everyone else talking no one else seemed to hear the small girl. "Third base."

Koneko frowned, took out her phone and, from his vantage point, he could see her type, "What is third base", into her phone. "That's," she echoed her earlier statement after a moment, "That's not fair, I was here first."

"It's not a race Koneko, I want us to move at a pace you are comfortable with. I don't want anyone to feel like they are being forced into anything."

She gave him that puffed cheek look again, but seemed to realize he was telling the truth. "I know." She mumbled.

He put a hand in her hair and leaned forward. "I am not going to forget about you, and I am not going to hold how you want things to progress against you, ok?"

She let out a low keen of frustration. "I know that, and there are things I want to do but I can't."

"And what are those?"

She shook her head. "Not now," She let out a long sigh, "We can talk about that when you get back."

"Are you ok?" He said voice absolutely serious.

"I am fine." She closed her eyes and reveled in his hand's motion.

"And I am here to help even if she stops being fine." they both glanced at Asia who blushed and looked away "Sorry."

"No." Koneko shook her head. "I'm glad you are here for me."

"You're welcome!" The brightness was back in the former nun's voice.

Koneko took in a deep breath and, to Ichigo's relief, changed the subject, "I have a few ideas for a bikini next time we go swimming." She pulled up a website on her phone. "I want to know what you think."

1

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1

Rias and Akeno both gave him amused looks as he sat next to them. "I was wondering if you would get to us." Rias grinned. "Sona dear is looking quite antsy." Said girl was going over her peerage with a fine toothed comb, both literally and mentally.

"She's just nervous about meeting the parents." He waved his hand. "From what I understand she never got around to introducing her peerage when I was not part of it. Now she has to do it with me and apparently a hostile dad due to said presence."

"I know," she waved a hand, "It's just funny."

"Not as funny as when the poor girl had to show us her swimsuit, but close." Akeno put in.

"How was your night?" Ichigo asked.

"Better than I thought it would be, Asia-chan's body heat is a wonderful ward against nightmares."

"Sorry about that." He whispered as Rias frowned at them.

"I was not the only one sharing, how was yours?"

There had really been no room for nightmares after what Serafall had done to him, but it would not do to announce that. "I only get the nightmares on the anniversary of when it happened."

"Ah," Akeno put a hand on his shoulder, "well if you would like to try the body heat thing you can show up then if you want."

His mouth quirked. "I might take you two up on that."

"Careful what you joke about Kurosaki."

"Hmmph." Rias's grin robbed the sound of the disapproval it carried.

"So, King," He teased, "what is a newly minted single woman like yourself going to do when you get back?"

Rias shivered in ecstasy. "Perhaps take a spa day, find a good restaurant, perhaps spy on what my Queen gets up to in her spare time."

"That sounds hot," Akeno said in a conversational way.

"Spend some quality time with my vibrator." She grinned when face flushed red. "Kidding about the last two, I'm finding it takes more to embarrass you, now a days."

He tried to glare at her but it fell flat. "Jerk." He mumbled.

"I think the proper term is bitch."

"Your not one of those." He replied in all seriousness.

"And you ruin the joke." She said fondly.

"I'm very good at doing that."

Rias gave him a fond smile. "Thank you for being you Kurosaki. Thank you for saving me and everything else."

"I helped you save yourself, nothing more. If you want to thank me then grow stronger and be the best person you can be."

"I think I can make that promise."

Akeno's eyes wandered into the distance, looking at something only she could see. "I suppose I will have to make that promise as well…" Her mouth quirked. "Perhaps in return you could take me and Asia out to dinner when you get back."

He made a frozen, almost static, sound, his eyes flickering to Koenko who rolled her eyes and nodded. Well that was two out of four...Serafall had given her permission last night. "Its a deal." He said.

"Its a date." She replied louder than she needed too, both Sona and Tsubasa turned to stare at the statement the Rook smirking and giving him a thumbs up. Sona just sighed her expression seeming to say 'I knew this would happen.', but despite what he expected she seemed to let it go and turned back to her peerage.

"Huh...that was easier than I expected." He mumbled.

"Just so long as you keep everyone happy." Akeno warned. "That is the key." Poor Asia looked ready to collapse where she sat, her mouth open, face red as a beat staring at him and Akeno with a mixture of embarrassed chagrin and joy.

"Hmph." Rias grumbled this time seeming actually annoyed. Well, since they were getting all of this out of the way, time to fulfill her mother's request.

"Rias, when I get back would you like to go to dinner?" That seemed to catch her by surprise and she did not seem to have a quick response.

 _"My daughter likes you, Kurosaki-san and I like you, so tell me, do you like her?"_

 _He stammered for a moment "Of course I like, I even love her just as I do most everyone in the peerages I am a part of."_

 _"I see so a better question are you attracted to her?"_

 _"In a sense sure." He could not keep his voice steady._

 _"All right then as the cost of my assistance for this, I want you to attempt to pursue a relationship with her, if it does not work that is fine, but see if she wants to come into what you are building, ok?"_

He was treated to the pleasure of seeing Rias Gremory blushing like the schoolgirl girl she was, her mouth moving, but no sounds coming out. Sona had turned around her eyebrow twitching until she saw her Rival best friends expression and the annoyance melted away into pure amusement, amplified all the more by Tsubaki, ever the vigilant Queen, snapped a picture.

"uh, um, ekk, yes?"

"Ok, I'll work on this arrangements." He stood up his face set in a pleasant expression that did not reveal the vindictive pleasure he was feeling at that moment. Leaning over he gave the redhead a hug. "See you later."

"Y-y-ya." The poor girl got out.

He looked at Akeno. "I'm not going to give you a hug because I don't know what you will do to me."

"Totally fair." the queen admitted her eyes sparkling. "I would have fondled you vigorously."

"I...see." With a final nod, walked back over to Sona's peerage.

At the look she was giving him he shrugged. "Might as well get it all out at once. Saves time and drama."

"And I think that was wise, but I would have preferred some warning."

"I was planning on doing that, but Akeno put me on the spot."

"Which is why you are not in the doghouse, in the future should there be anymore," she sounded rather certain on that, "Talk to me first or I might grow annoyed."

"Yes ma'am."

Moving her glasses off the bridge of her nose Sona looked him over. He was wearing a suit just as fancy as the rest of the clothing their King had picked out for them. He had made sure not to get any food on it and Sona moved her hand across the wrinkles it had accrued, making them vanish with her power. She nodded, and closed her eyes for a second. "Guess I can't stall anymore?" She asked loud enough for him to hear.

"It will be ok Sona."

Her expression was that of one clearly trying to believe him, but not quite reaching that point. "Gather round." She ordered, marching them to a waiting circle.

He found himself beside Orihime who was still not looking at him. Nel wandered up to him and leapt onto his back. "Itsygo is a baka." She informed him.

Considering that statement was true most of the time he did not even bother with that and asked. "Why?"

"Because you are." There it was again, her speech was different, all save his name had become so clear. "Ignoring the one..."

"Nel-chan," Inoue spoke, "Not now." she sounded semi panicked, her eyes were drawn to him for a quick look, which caused her whole body to flush.

"See you later Sona, I'll try not to break the school while you are gone." Rias called, her self control back and breaking his thoughts on what was happening with Inoue.

"If that is not the case I will spank you before the whole school."

"Right," Rias replied, her tone was teasing, "Though in that case it might be in front of what is left." That at last got a reluctant smile from her friend.

"True," She agreed, "At least don't burn it down."

"Yes ma'am." Rias said in a parody of Ichigo's voice.

"Oh, you." Sona puffed out her cheeks and activated the circle. Ichigo waved to his other peerage before they vanished in a flash of teleportation.

1

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1

If there was one thing that Ichigo could say about Noble Devil families it was that they built big. For a moment he assumed they had appeared in an open field or a large cavern. It was the towering doors that would have fit right in with the gates of Soul Society and the seventy five foot ceiling that told him otherwise.

There were… not quite lewd, but very flattering frescos of various women in revealing dress, some not quite as bad as others. They all bore the dark hair and most had the striking violet eyes that he had come to associate with Sona.

"My ancestors." She mumbled as he glanced at her with an eyebrow raised at the ceiling. Besides that there was a lot more wood paneling and floors compared to the gold trim and carpets of the Gremory. Guessing that this was the entrance hall he had to marvel at the room easily big enough to fit several football fields inside it, with room to spare. A grand staircase rose before them, in the distance goring through three levels of house, each as fancy as the other. Pictures of men and women dotted the walls along with other decorations designed to be pleasing to the eye. Chandeliers hung from the high ceiling at equidistant points, glowing with a soft yet bright light, providing perfect coverage of the whole space.

And that was not including the people. In this room alone there were two dozen people hard at work. Like the Gremory they wore maid and butler outfits, but, like Mori-san, the maids wore very conservative versions of the clothing. Speaking of which, had they left Mori at the Gremory house?

As if in answer, Nel's babysitter appeared in her own flash of light, her expression one of proper calm, never so much as twitching. On his back Nel waved. "Young Mistress!" A girl no more than eight dropped her duster and ran over to them. While that was happening Mori-san quietly took Nel from his back and moved off to the side, the Arrancar did not seem to mind in the slightest.

Sona's expression softened as she leaned over and embraced the lass. "Hello Pip, you have gotten bigger since I last saw you." Pip was a girl on the small side with bright brown hair, a pair of dog like ears poking out between the locks. She wore a maid outfit in miniature, but lacked the calm exterior that seemed to be the norm. Bright gold eyes shone as she let go of the girl.

"You've been gone for almost two years, of course I've grown."

Sona scratched her ear, causing one of her feet to start tapping. "I know, I've been busy. It is good to see you again." She lowered herself to meet her eye. "Is my room in order?"

Pip jumped in place. "Yes, yes! Just like you left it. I clean it every week."

Sona nodded. "Thank you Pip."

The girl glanced around her mistress. "Are these people your peerage?"

Sona nodded. "I'll let you meet them later Pip, my parents are coming."

"Oh, no." The girl ran back to her spot as the other servants in the room gave respectful bows and seemed to disappear into small doors or halls. Light flared in a gold circle and there was a flash of light. In the fading light of the teleportation several figures resolved.

"Is this house big enough that teleportation is required?" He asked through communication.

"Depends on where you are." Sona replied and he could almost hear her wince.

The light faded and he got his first look at Sona's parents. For a moment he had a confused sense of deja vu, on the right was a woman that at first glance resembled Serafall. It only passed as he took in the rest of her. She was the same height, had the same bust, and the same pink eyes that glowed with amusement. However there were differences, her skin much less pale, in fact it looked like Serafall's skin after a tan at the beach. Her features were more refined, or mature, though that was just the way she carried herself. Light brown hair fell about her head in a groomed manner and she was currently dressed in a red tracksuit with white stripes, as well as expensive but comfortable looking tennis shoes. Her expression of delight matched Serafall's to the tee, though naturally there was less of the sensuality emitted by the Maou, as she, hopefully, had no romantic interest in any of them.

The person to the right of the group was a beast of a man over two meters tall and built like the earth itself. Golden hair was smoothed back over his head, though it was at odds with his beard that had the look of wild freedom, but had clearly been trimmed and cared for to keep it contained on his sideburns and chin. His skin was a dark tan at odds with his hair color, and he had powerful arms and legs, a barrel chest all straining against his well made suit. Though on closer look that was not the case, because the suit had been made and fitted to show off the muscles, the chest and legs. It told anyone who looked that nothing of this size was fat. It spoke of power and threat, but the expression of pure joy on his face ruined that image, but in a good way.

The woman in the middle commanded the most attention by virtue of the power he felt pressing at his senses. All three were strong, but the one at the center was a magnitude greater, not on Serafall's level, but then again there were only a few stronger than her. In her face he saw where Sona got her features, violet and sharp eyes that saw everything, a cute nose with a hint of sharpness, a serene expression of a smile. She was much taller than her daughter, perhaps just over six feet and, judging by the curve of her dress, her chest was more developed as well. She had the same willow-like quality as her daughter, pale skin, dark black hair that flowed freely down her back all the way to the curve of her rear. It looked like Sona had some growth spurts coming in the far future.

"H-h..." Sona gulped. "Hello mother, father, auntie." She put her hands behind her back. "It's good to see you again."

The man burst out laughing and covered the distance between him and his daughter in several long steps. "Enough of that!" He swept her up in his powerful arms. "Welcome home, little one!"

"Papa~." Sona whined as she was crushed against her father's chest. The stiffness left her after a moment and she hugged back as best she could. He set her down and pressed his head into her hair "You've grown so much, little sparrow, how could you not have visited in three years?"

"Little sparrow?" Tsubaki asked in an amused tone.

The man looked them all over, giving the girls a smile of approval and the boys… something much scarier, though it still constituted a smile. "I've spoken to you over the phone, you are my Daughter's Queen, correct?"

"Yes, Lord Sitri."

"No, no, none of that with my daughter's family. I am Talon or, and I would much prefer, my middle name as it sounds like a real name, Corvus."

"Corvus." Tsubaki nodded.

Sona squirmed until her father let her go only to be swept up and around into another hug. "Auntie~." she whined again

The woman laughed and said. "Little sparrow I've missed you so much." Sona tried to make another sound, but it was lost as her face was pressed into the woman's large cleavage. "I've been so excited when I heard that not only you were coming, but that you found yourself a man." Corvus made a growling sound.

"MMMMHHHHH!" Was the only sound their poor king could make.

"Oops." The woman said and loosened her grip as a red faced Sona gasped for breath. "Auntie Sabra!"

"What? You used to love hiding in there as a little girl." Sona barely bit back a scream of mortification.

"That's enough, wife dear." The second woman said.

"Aww, but I have two years worth to get out."

"And get it out you will, Sabra dear." Sona's aunt released her and her mother leaned down for a much more gentle hug. "Welcome back my child, I have missed you terribly." There was no reply from their King, but there was a slight hitching sound. "I am, of course, aware why and wish you would have understood that it did not matter." She kissed her Daughter on the forehead. "But that is in the past, welcome home, daughter mine."

Tension seemed to seep out of the girl. "I'm glad to be home, mom."

"Ahh, that is better." Lady Seras Sitiri stood back up to her full height, looking over them all. "Welcome home, kin of my kin." Her mouth quirked. "Now, with that out of the way, why don't you introduce us to your Peerage."

Sona nodded, her mother's calm giving her back a sense of control. "Everyone, these are my parents, my mother Seras Sitiri, my father Talon Corvus Sitri and my aunt Sebra Emilee Sitri." She walked over to them. "This is my Queen Tsubaki Shinra," The girl bowed with a smile, "These are my Bishops, Momo Hanakai and Reya Kusaka." Both girls gave formal greetings. "My Knights Tomoe Meguri and Inoue Orihime."

"Hello," Inoue smiled at them, "A pleasure to meet you all."

"'Sup?" Tomoe said drawing an eye twitch from Sona.

She moved over to him and Tsubasa. "These are my Rooks, Tsubasa Yura and," She steeled herself, "Ichigo Kurosaki." Up 'till now her Father had been giving him and Saji equal measures of that death smile. Once his name was out, the full force of her father's powerful presence was suddenly and noticeably on his shoulders. His Soul flared in response, as he met the man's gaze his eyes flashing blue. Corvus did not even so much as twitch. Her other parents were giving him their own scanning looks and he felt sweat began to form on the back of his neck.

"And these two are my current Pawns, Genshirou Saji and Ruruko Nimura." Her mother and her aunt released him from their penetrating gaze, but the Lord Sitiri did no such courtesy. Sona returned to the front of them, steeling herself, pausing only to glare at her Father when she noted the direction of his gaze. He gave her the, 'I'm a dad this is my job', look that all of them seemed to possess on instinct.

"They feel powerful." Seras gave her daughter a look of pure pride. "You have done so well daughter." Pride transformed their King's face at those words, her shoulders straightened as if a weight had been removed.

"Honey," Sebra said, "Perhaps we should move our guests to a more comfortable place, I think a few of them are getting stiff from standing up."

"An excellent idea dear." She flashed a well practiced winning smile. "Please, follow me." It seemed that they were going to walk; though after a moment he noted the floor seeming to move with them. In fact it felt like stepping onto a moving sidewalk, the odd speed at which the body feels it moves at versus what the eye sees moving past you. The others noticed and if they slowed so did all of them, Seras glanced behind her and smiled. "The spell is quite a work of art, one of my Grandmother's spells, it triggers on the individual or group's desire for speed and lets you cover great distances in a proper amount of time."

"You do miss the artwork," Sona said, "But given that this compound is the size of a small city, it's an even trade."

Ichigo's eyebrows rose along with everyone else. "What?" Saji asked for all of them.

Sona coughed uncomfortably, but her Father spoke with a melancholy tone. "In times past the house of Sitiri was quite vast, in terms of sheer size it dwarfed all other, but two wars saw that diminished."

"Do not forget the internal conflict that came after." Seras said quietly. "But it matters not, as my dear little Levi-tan always says, look to the future."

Ichigo looked at her in surprise. "Did you give her that nickname?" The woman smiled at her wife. "No that was her Mother's idea."

Sebra's eyes sparkled in the same way Serafall's did… his mind processed what Sona's mother had just said. The woman watched in amusement as he looked from her to Seras.

His eyes flickered to Sona who was deliberately not looking at him, her cheeks flushed with mortification. He opened his mouth… then closed it. Given Sona's look it was better not to ask while everyone was... "So how does that work?" Tomoe said, oblivious to her King's distress.

Seras smiled. "In deference to my daughter I will not go into details while she is standing right here. But to keep it simple I have had a child with both of my amazing lovers."

"Ohh, neat. So is Kaichou and Serafall-sama half sisters?"

"No," her mother said warmly, "They are sisters, and we are their mothers and he is their father, they just call her aunt to keep things from being confusing, to us the words mother and aunt mean the same thing."

So Sona's family dynamic was even more esoteric and complicated. At the very least it made his relationship seem…. More normal?

"Tomoe-san, please don't ask anymore." Her King pleaded.

"What, are you ashamed of us daughter?" Corvus boomed, his voice tinged with good humor.

"No," she mumbled somehow seeming younger, "That's not what I meant."

"Peace." He laughed. "The human world had that effect, when you can't explain something they would not understand it becomes difficult." He looked over her peerage. "And since most of your peerage was human I truly understand." His expression became mock seriousness. "Still you should not shame kink."

"DAD!" She hissed and kicked him in the leg, she might as well have kicked a mountain for all the good it did her. At his laugh she huffed and turned away, seeming to dismiss him from her personal existence. Amusement played in Ichigo's mind as he watched the two. It seemed even Sona could fall into the old habits of family life.

She glanced behind her and noted his smile, thus flushing even further. Her head snapped away as she worked to calm herself. Naturally her Father noticed the glance and followed it, the humor evaporating from gaze. Until that moment he had not known how he would react. The Father of his girlfriends, who apparently disapproved of him without taking the time for so much as a handshake.

On the surface it was quite the galling stance to take, but if he put himself in the man's position. Imagining himself with a daughter who brought home a boy that was not only dating her, but her older sister as well, who came from a different dimension, with odd unknown powers and the promise of more women than just your daughters in a relationship. Now perhaps that last part did not matter to Devils so much, but honestly he could understand the disapproval.

Still, it was not in him to show weakness, he opted for ignoring the look rather than challenging or giving way. He focused on what was around him or at least what he could see as the moved in a blur. "Thankfully we have a use for the extra room." Sona's mother continued.

"Renting it?" Tsubasa asked. "Or using it for sports?"

Seras let out a throaty chuckle. "No, nothing of the sort. We let those in our Peerages bring whoever else they want with them to live here."

That sounded like a legitimate use of land even if it could not of possibly made the best use of space. But, then again, he did not know just how much land the underworld had, for all he knew it could have been infinite.

The blur slowed to a stop right before they entered a room with a lit fireplace, various couches, and even as he watched Servants blurred into the room armed with chilled tea and cups. The parents moved almost as one unit, moving to occupy very used seats with Seras in the middle, Corvus and Sebra on her right and left. They took their cue and made themselves as comfortable as possible and took a moment to taste the rather refreshing tea.

"Mmm, how many years has it been, daughter mine, since we sit in this room?"

Sona had trouble meeting any pair of her parents' eyes. "Three years, since I started my schooling in the human world."

"Yes and I'm given to understand that you do have breaks in the year when schooling is off." Her father continued.

"I'm the Student Council President, there was a lot of work to do."

"And you do have the means of a simple communication spell with any of us, daughter." said Sebra.

Sona squirmed under the words, Ichigo found himself thankful that he was going to get his own parent meeting out of the way on his own accord. His own family were just as good at the art of the guilt trip.

"We do realize that you want to make your own way and your own name, but really, did you have no time for family?"

He heard a slight keening sound from his girlfriend. "Just apologize," He told her over communication, "If you feel you have done anything wrong." She did not reply, but it seemed her parents were done poking her.

"So, how have you been daughter, your sister's weekly reports are nice, but tend to skip the details of what you have been up to."

"School, training, running the school, assisting my Peerage."

"Finding a boyfriend." Sebra added with a grin.

"Without so much as an introduction." Her father added.

Sona closed her eyes and took a breath. "I've been doing a lot," It was an effort of will, but her voice sounded calm, "I have not been complacent, my time at Kuoh is more to me than just school. I've learned a lot about how an education system designed for most people works. I've watched teachers who work with the smartest and those who are normal. I've learned and written whole curriculums, with each new one getting better. I've worked with prodigies and delinquents, studying and learning the best ways to work with the whole spectrum of people."

Her voice was slowly growing more passionate with each passing word. "I and my peerage take on most of the school's paperwork. We balance budgets, field requests, deal with issues and discipline, write grants, plan and staff events, run elections." She shook her head. "We do so much as a team and I keep learning more, that is what I have been doing." She glanced at him and her cheeks darkened. "I, honestly, did not expect to also..." She trailed off unable to continue.

Ichigo got the treat of two death glares, one from her father and the other from Saji, behind him. Thankfully it seems that Lady Seras felt her husband had been given enough time to intimidate. She sent a stern look at the man and he met her gaze for only a moment before relaxing and moving his gaze away. Sona visibly relaxed. At his back Tsubasa was much less gentle and stamped on the pawn's foot, not hard, but enough to make a point.

"So serious, daughter mine." Seras smiled again. "But I am more than glad that you have learned what you sought and more. Seeing you work so hard on your dream, well it reminds me that you are your father's daughter."

The man gave a booming laugh. "Less dense, can take a hint, unlike me, but you did get my work ethic."

"Don't forget who did your early schooling, young lady." Said Sebra with a false pout.

"How could I Auntie? You were what inspired me." Perhaps Sona had never told the woman that as she blinked in shock her mouth opening and closing in shock.

"I inspired you?"

"Of course," Sona closed her eyes, "I was a terrible student."

"Bull." Half the peerage said at once.

"No," Sona blushed, "I was bratty, stubborn, hard headed, and…" Shame touched her eyes. "More than a little mean spirited."

"Sona dear," Sebra said with absolute patience, "If you apologize one more time for stupid things you said as a child I will remind you physically what my disipline methods were."

"I..am aware," she squeaked before recovering her voice, "But, as I was saying, your teaching, your discipline, your patience, and your love for me who at the time was doing nothing to earn it."

"Children don't have to earn it." Replied her Aunt.

"By the time I left, well, I was more like the girl you know know, and," she gave her Aunt a shy smile, "I wanted to do for what you did for me. You made me better that what I was, then what I could have been."

"I think I'm going to cry." Said the woman before getting up and pulling the girl into a hug, the act quickly became one that her smiling parents joined. And thus neatly did Sona Sitri cut through the tension… well, she did say she was practicing.

The sight stirred his heart as thoughts of his own family came to the fore….he had been away from them for too long. And it had been hiding, from there pity, which really had been love. "Well, that was nice of you, Little Sparrow."

"Don't call me that." Sona mumbled into her Aunt.

"Sorry Daughter, that is a parent's right." Sebra replied.

And things moved smoothly from there, each of them was given a turn to introduce themselves with their own voice and talk to Sona's parents. They three wanted to know who they were, how they met Sona what had they been doing and were all subjected to the same treatment they had given their daughter. Ichigo learned a decent amount of facts about each and some of the more interesting included, saving Tomoe's grandfather with the proper transplant at the right time, saving Reya from her injuries sustained in a car wreck, Tsubaki having to go through a long period where she was not aware of what Sona was and was only inducted when she proved herself and other such facts

When it got to Saji's turn it got a little more interesting. "So you're the cutie with the absorption line, correct?"

"Y-ya, that's me."

"Just be clear," Corvus said, "You are not the one dating my baby girl?"

His expression flickered. "No." He replied in a surprisingly flat tone.

The man boomed with laughter. "Then I think we will get along well." Lady Seras had a different reaction, her expression thoughtful.

"So," Corvus said, "Tell me about yourself young man."

The boy nodded taking a deep breath. "Well I was pretty much a lazy nobody from a small town," He gave a small self deprecating laugh, "I spent most of my time gaming when I could get away with it and just gliding by on the bare minimum of schooling and chores. I had no real asperations, no ideas of what I wanted to do with my, no tragic backstory slash murder slash injury. I thought I was a pretty normal guy." His eyes went distant in memory. "Then, one day, I was walking down the street, on a day like any other and a girl stopped me."

"You mean you almost ran into me." Sona said softly.

"Right," he looked away, embarrassed, "And she asked me a question."

"Oh, and what was that?" Sebra asked.

"Are you happy with where you are, because I can take you further." Saji said the words and Sona echoed them. "Now, I'm not particularly bright so she had to sit me down and buy me lunch to explain what she meant. She told me I had potential, and that I was wasting it. She talked about my life with a… high level of detail and I, uh, called her a stalker."

The three parents burst out laughing as Sona sent a pink cheeked glare at the boy. "But she was a cute girl, so I did not mind." He did not look his King's way as he said that. "And I listened to her and heard her out, she told me she was the new Student Council President of a school that I thought was girls only and wanted to make a difference and help people. I said I did not need help, but she gave me a list why I did. Told me to think about it and meet her at that spot next week if I wanted to learn more. So I went home, sure I was going to do nothing of the sort."

Saji shifted in place. "But, you know, her words have a way of striking home."

"Uncomfortably so." Corvus said with a laugh.

"And I really took the time to look at myself for that week, to see what I was doing and I guess since it had been pointed out to me, I noticed how much time I really was wasting. I talked to my parents and figured out they thought so too. And, well, when the day came I decided to see what would happen. I met Kaichou again, we talked and she offered me a scholarship to Kuoh Academy and a probationary place on the Student Council. I remember being really nervous and not at all sure I wanted to just jump into a new path. But I did, I accepted and became pretty much a gopher for the Student Council for several months. I worked really hard, I lost weight, I gained friends and later family. Then one day, Kaichou sat me down and told me the truth about the world and offered a place at her side." His fist clenched as an emotion flickered across his face. Ichigo wondered for a moment if he was the only one that caught it, but Lady Seras's lips pursed in thought for a microsecond.

"That's pretty much it. I've been working hard ever since to earn a place and reach for what I want." The last words were resolved like the stone of the earth. "And I have not given up on that."

'Good luck' Ichigo thought.

"Well, I am glad my Daughter has been such a good influence on you and the others, she was so quiet growing up." Her father laughed "Now look at her all grown up and...getting herself a boyfriend without so much as a 'by your leave' from her old man."

"I don't need your permission." The tension was back in Sona's face.

Her Father ignored that and glanced at him, the only one who had not spoken. Ichigo himself was only half listening to the byplay as he watched Saji. Hearing the story had helped put things into perspective. He looked on her as a savior and perhaps he assumed there had been more when she had offered him a place next to her. He could understand loving the one who saved you, his heart clenched as an image of the small Soul Reaper who had changed his life flickered across his mind like a phantom.

Ichigo turned his mind to the last part of what Saji had said, the part about not giving up had been aimed at him. "You, boy." That got his attention, how long had it been since he thought of himself as a boy? Boy's did not have to bear the weight of the world, boys did not have to charge headfirst into battle against unimaginable odds to stop an injustice.

"Yes?" He relied meeting the man's gaze calmly before moving past him to give polite smiles at Sona's mothers. To his surprise both returned his gesture with something that looked genuine.

"Don't be rude dear, they are guests and while will humor your adorable overprotectiveness do not push that too far." Seras said. There was just a hint of iron in her voice when she spoke. Her Husband grimaced and held his Wife's gaze for several long moments, but the steel in hers crushed the fire in his and he let out a long suffering sigh. "The things I do for you."

"I know." She replied sweetly, for some reason her kind excited gaze caused a great deal more fear in him than anything Lord Corvus had done. "So, you're the one who took our daughters' hearts." Somehow he doubted anyone who Sona ended up with would have been able to keep Serafall out of the relationship. It was a good thing that they connected and understood one another on a level that surprised even him sometimes. Sebra caught his eye and something passed between them and he had an idea that her thoughts had gone the same direction as his.

"I would not use the word 'took'." He replied.

"Yes, Levi-tan gives." Her mother stated with a small smile. "We all have seen what happens when someone tries to steal from her."

While he did not know what they were talking about he could imagine the results. "I can tell you I was not expecting it, when this all started."

"And how did it start?"

That was a long answer, but one he had given before, the quick overview of his life before meeting Sona, and some added extra about what they had been up to. The blackmail incident which thankfully Serafall had informed them off and he and the rest of the peerage found out what Serafall had done to make sure it could not happen again. Yep, Levi-tan could be quite scary when she wanted to be and that was the way he liked it.

He went over the fallen and his unique transformation into a devil. "Wait," Corvus said, "You're sharing him with the Gremory?"

"In more ways than one." Saji murmured, only for Tsubasa to stomp on his foot agian.

"The Maou are aware of it and Lord Akuja is currently crafting the rules of how to deal with that."

"But why would you try that, you could have lost the Piece forever, it could have blown up in your face?" He pressed.

"He was one of mine, Devil or no, I would have done the same for all of them." That caused her old mans mouth to click closed.

"So you have had quite the time in my Daughter's care it seems, I wondered why one of our stores of Phoenix Tears had been used. Though given what I saw from the Riser/Gremory game it was well worth it." Corvus grumbled something that Ichigo could not make out. "But would you be so kind as to tell me about yourself, about your family and your life outside of..." She seemed to struggle for the right word. "Warfare? Danger?" She nodded. "Danger."

Ichigo shrugged. "I have a Dad and two sisters. He runs a medical clinic in Karakura Town and I helped him with it growing up and so do my sisters. I held a high GPA in my high school, though," He added, "My hair and my refusal to submit to bullies attracted an uncomfortable amount of thugs and the like who wanted a piece of me."

Corvus leaned forward eyes glinting. "Surely that is not all there is too it, you were accosted because of your hair?"

"Humans can be cruel, children even more so and teenagers most of all. I did not bend to them and they hated me for that."

"Why not simply dye your hair?"

"My mother gave this hair to me." his voice was dead calm. "There is not much of her left in this world besides myself and my sisters and I was and am still in no mood to lose any of her memory." The man leaned back as if stung, though perhaps that was the glare Sona was giving him. "But beyond that, I made friends, we hung out we watched each other's backs. In that way I am proud to say we were quite" he paused, he had been going to say normal but that would be a lie. They had never been normal, they had been a bunch of misfits "good people" he said

Sebra's eyes moistened. "Serafall talks as you do, you know." Ichigo nodded knowing what she meant.

"Not a lot of time to be a kid, when you have the weight of the world on you. Though I will say this, and I know both I and her feel the same way. It is experiences like what we went through that make you love the peaceful and normal life all the harder." He turned his gaze to Sona. "It's the reason she loves you the way she does, so hard, so fierce. She has fought for it and it carried her through two wars, though I suspect that the love applies to all of you." He swept his gaze over the whole family. "She fought for all of you to have this life and that fact makes her cherish it and you all the more."

She knew that, of course. Sona, more than any of them, knew her sister. Better than him, and perhaps only Serafall's own mothers understood her better. A quiet fell on the room as they all took in his statement. Sebra had to wipe away a tear from her eye before nodding. "I know that and there had not been a day of my life I have not been grateful for her presence."

"As it is with us." Seras said. "Without her we would all be dead."

That sounded like a story but from the looks on the faces around him he thought it prudent not to press, he would ask Levi-tan later. "Sorry about that," he said, "But there is a reason we get along well."

"Very well, if my nose says anything about that."

He kept his face composed and gave a small laugh as if it was a joke. "Levi-tan is very open with affection." From the look in Lady Seras's eye she either knew or had a very good idea of what he and Serafall had done last night. He gulped internally as Lord Corvus glanced at his wife and though seemingly centuries of marriage had the practice to read her face perfectly. When he turned his gaze back upon Ichigo his eyes were steel… and he was not joking they seemed to have literally shifted to pure steel. Then the man blinked and it was gone, his normal eyes returned, though they glared at him with a fresh intensity. He thanked his lucky stars that no one behind him seemed to notice… well, except Sona. She knew her mother and judging by the way she was not looking at him and her cheeks were now crimson she had figured something out.

"Well, well, well. This has been quite enlightening. We will all have to talk later, but I think you all need to get set up, you are all going to be staying for a few days." She stood up. "All the girls come with me and I will show you to your rooms…" She glanced at her wife "Sebra you take the boy's to their room. I'm worried my husband might put that one," she nodded at Ichigo, "In a closet or something."

"Why would I do that when I have a perfectly serviceable dungeon." The man muttered darkly.

"Exactly." Seras said sweetly. "Now, come along dear, let's get you a chance to talk to your daughter when you aren't acting like a jilted lover." That got more dark murmurings out of the man, but he followed his Wife all the same.

Tsubasa rolled her eyes at the spectacle and gave him a look that was one part despondent, one part excitement. Guess she had not missed the byplay either. From the look in her eyes he could make a guess as to what she thought of that or perhaps that was just the hopeful part of his mind already dying to try what he had done with Serafall again. The feeling of sated satisfaction faded before this sensation of all consuming desire for more experience, more pleasure. With an effort of will he clamped down on that feeling pushing it away. Now was not the time to be fantasizing, now was not even close. So instead he smiled at her and mouthed. "I will see you later."

Tsubasa pouted, but the small gleam in her eye she could not quite hide told him otherwise. Turning, he and Saji followed Serafall's mother out into the compound, the odd spell built into the place causing them to blur by people, halls and rooms in equally fast measure. "Remember to focus on where you want to go when you walk. If you picture a person that works too, though it will stop you at doors." They came to a stop. "This will be yours Master Saji."

"Please, just Saji." He mumbled.

Sebra nodded. "Ok, I was just trying out the Ultimate Queen's shtick, not really my style." Saji opened the door to a wide room with an amazing bed, a TV, fridge, a walk in closet, shower, bath and restroom and luxurious carpets. "Please settle yourself in, you will be called when we are all to gather from the traditional games of the guest." Before Saji could ask just what those were she turned away. "Please, follow me Kurosaki."

Hmm, did that naming of him boade well or ill? It was not like he could avoid her so he shrugged and matched pace with the woman. There was a small part of his brain that noted she looked good in a tracksuit, but thankfully whatever had changed about him had not gone so far as to include his girlfriend's mother as a potential mate. They arrived at another door and to his surprise Sebra led him inside, it was almost the mirror to Saji's room, but he did not have time to look around as Serafall's mother closed the door and leaned against it looking at him.

"Oh dear." He said.

"Don't worry." She waved a hand. "I'm not going to bite. I just want to make sure you know a few things, since my baby girl picked you."

"Fair enough." He sat on the bed, hands on his lap in plain sight.

She looked at him for a long moment. "You know, it has been a long time since I saw my daughter so happy and I want to ensure that happiness stays." Her eyes were like chips of obsidian… again, like her brother, actual obsidian. "My little girl has had an eventful life, you know. She went off to war, for all intents and purposes, as a child. All of us, the adults of the Sitiri family we were injured early in the Three Powers War. The great Maou, the Original Lucifer demanded that each family send support, no matter the condition. When we woke up to find that our baby girl had gone in our place..." A haunted expression, old as time slipped across her face. "Gone and none of us had the strength to follow. Well, I don't think I have ever felt more useless as a Mother. But she went and by fate or luck she ended up with the only three creatures in the underworld that could have kept her safe."

Ichigo took a guess. "Sirzech, Akuja and Falbium?"

"Very good, the Son of my wife's best friend took her into his group, they sheltered her until she could take care of herself and when she started to come into her own they stood by her, they helped her. She fell in love with Sirzech, you know. It would have been hard for her not to. However the future Maou only ever had eyes for one person. That hurt, even though Sirzech was clear and never lead her on. She returned to us a stranger, whose eyes had seen friends vaporized by light, killed by the decisions of Lucifer and his companions. She returned to us quiet and reserved, a shadow of the bubbly child she had been."

"How old was she when this happened?"

"Sixteen."

"For a Devil that's like, less than a year old?"

"No, as you know in our early years we age much as humans do, but it was quite young. She might have been the only one quite that young in the war. But she survived, she came though the final battles, saw the death of Lucifer and, as I said, came back changed. For the next almost three hundred years one might hardly see her, she spent much of her time alone, in her part of the compound."

"Why did you let her do that?" He said before he could stop himself.

"It's not like we left her alone all the time. I made her come to dinner, we all made sure to spend time with her. To watch her shows, read her comics, play her games, we just were not able to help her recover from what she had seen." Ichigo had trouble imaging Serafall as a hikikomori.

"And then, somehow, she met a man. One a lot like you, rugged, a vetrean of the same war she had been in. He connected with her on that level, that understanding, we began to see glimpses of her old self as he took her out of her little world." Her voice was calm and composed, but there was a glare of murder inside them and he had a feeling this story did not end well.

"At this time the three companions of Lucifer, who had divided the underworld among themselves, were beginning to posture, to crack. Everyone with eyes could see a conflict brewing. The Maou were starting to gather people to their sides, all the stars of the last war, the most powerful, the most experienced, seaking the rule above all as their Lord had. I don't think Serafall realized that because she had been with the those three men, those who were heroes of the Great War. She neither realized what kind of perception that gave to her image or how strong she had become in the war. Nor had she spent her years idle in her isolation, she had been training, throwing herself against her limits, becoming more. By the time the boy managed to steal her heart she was almost as strong as my wife, and she was stronger than me. She was quite the prize for the war that was to come and that boy was the bait for her."

"Who was he?"

"Remas Leviathan, grandson of the original Leviathan. He stole her heart and pulled her towards the side of his grandsire. But he made one mistake."

"He underestimated her," Ichigo said gently, "She acts how she does because she loves it, because that makes her happy. But one should not be fooled by it."

Sebra smiled slightly, some of that old pain leaving her face. "She saw through him. Somehow even in her pain, even with the memories, and even though it hurt her dearly she cast him out and told him never to come back." Her mother nodded. "There, of course, is more to that, but it is her place to speak of what came after. I have told you this much because I wanted you to understand the power you have right now. The pain you could cause her, what you could do if you decided to hurt her. She has been resilient her whole life and I do not want to see that hit its limit. I expect you to treat my daughter as the person she deserves to be. Not as a Maou, not as a celebrity, but as Serafall Sitri."

Ichigo stood and walked over to the woman so they were facing eye to eye. "What comes in the future I have no control over. Who knows, she might grow tired of me. But I will always treat her as Serafall, as the women I have come to know." He would have added something else, but those words were reserved for Levi-tan first. "And the person I have come to care for deeply. This I promise to you and I swear it on my Soul."

Her mother took in a shuddering breath. "I will hold you to that Ichigo Kuroaski." She nodded. "And you have my support." She turned away from him and opened the door. "You will be summoned for games soon, prepare as you see fit." She stepped out of the room and past Saji who was waiting at his door, she nodded at him politely and began to walk vanishing in a blur as the spells on the house propelled her away from them.

"What do you need Saji?"

The boy stared at him with a resolved expression. "After Dinner I would like to talk to you privately."

'Why not now?' Ichigo thought. "I see, and where might you want this private talk to happen?"

"The gardens at the center of this compound." Ichigo stared down at the boy. "Well?"

"Ok." He said with a shrug. "I will meet you there."

The boy let out a long breath. "Good." Turning, he marched away to his room.

Ichigo closed the door and went to sink down into a chair, his mind buzzing with thoughts of what he had just heard. What it said, what it meant, and… he nodded to himself he would tell Serafall about this conversation as soon as possible. No sense in hiding it from her and perhaps it would help get some things off her chest, just like she had helped him do. He closed his eyes and leaned back letting his breathing slow, a quick nap would not hurt and he felt like he would need it for what was to come.

 **Hollowichigo12**

It should be worth mentioning in regards to Ruruka and Momo being sad at Saji not really looking at them despite all the effort they put into looking good, something like that stings for both males and females alike. I like how you worked on that and had Akeno fix it by having Issei go talk with them. Most authors would not bother with that but you did so good job there in going the extra mile.

On a side note do you know of any good places to read the Ars Goetia and learn about the demon pillars and stuff? The actual ones and not the DxD or FGO versions.

 **I agree, as a book I once read said 'You can only be told no so many times before it starts to effect how you see yourself" and while he did not tell them no he might as well have.**

 **In answer to your second question I just use Wikipedia, I don't need the in depth stuff the quick descriptions give me the inspiration I need**

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 **Guest**

Did you just give Issei Quincy powers?

 **It might have become that but a darn dragon ate them =(**

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 **Dragonmemoirs**

As good old sir Hammerlock would sayRepressed memories, ho!"

 **Lol so true.**

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 **Torrent AB**

one quick question, is Ichigo ever gonna go Full Hollow? Because honestly that was always one of my favorite parts in Bleach, and it always kinda sucks that all writers seem to throw that away, kinda like Naruto and his 4 tailed mode. I know it's supposed to be about showing they have control of themselves, but there's always something awesome about someone losing control to help someone they love, while still having enough control to keep them safe.

Anyways, thanks for the chapter and I hope to see more soon!

 **You will have to wait an see on the hollow stuff. =)**

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 **Burner**

Just to point a little something, Zangetsu (White) didn't attack Ichigo because he was an asshole, in its own way, he was trying to protect him (given he considered Ichigo too weak to be fighting he decided the best way to protect him was to control the body and destroy everything that was a menace to Ichigo).

While I'll wait to see the explanation of the change that you implied, there shouldn't be a reason for Ichigo to have to fight Zangetsu for control. While Ichigo still doesn't know the true nature of White, wich is an actual source of possible conflict between them, Zangetsu should be happy letting Ichigo be the king, he only tries to usurp when he despairs or its too weak for the enemy they're fighting. I can see them fighting because even if Ichigo already has a real Zanpakuto but he still doesn't understad the true nature of his powers, his sword could try to force him to aknowledge his true power but at least I don't think it should be canon that he wants to usurp him again.

Last complain, the special was very hard to read, I kind of get the idea but it needed more proofreading.

And finally, excellent work, specially on the relationships wich have been growing organically and in a very veliable way

 **That is a good point, so would White tell him this now? What is the hollows goal in this?**

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 **SomethingAncient**

But the following paragraph has me very concerned:

"It is my Inner Hollow and his name is White, or at least that is what I was told to call him. He is a piece of my soul, just like Zangetsu, though he takes the form of a mask when either I call on him or we synchronize."

Doesn't Ichigo know that his inner hollow IS his zanpakuto? He already knows the old man is his quincy powers, so this paragraph makes no sense. His hollow isn't pure hollow: it is his zanpakuto, just hollowfied (hence the species called "visored").

 **No, Ichigo has no idea right now, he did not find out tell the very end of bleach, needless to say I am working on it.**

 **By the way the rest of your review was great and I did read it all, you have some good insights.**

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 **Xbox423**

Fun chapter is fun. :D Seriously though, I think you did a good job of laying out the awkward thought processes of every teenage boy at the beach. And I quite enjoyed the moments with the girls as well. Not only did you showcase their beauty, but their personalities as well as their interactions with one another.

 **That is what I was going for, thank you**

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 **Comment of the week by Rage Generator**

A wild Aizen appears!

Go! Ichigo!

Aizen uses 'Ichigo's first time (HD)'!

It's super effective! Ichigo is paralyzed!

Ichigo tries to use Getsuga Tenshou… but Ichigo is paralysed in mortification!

Aizen uses Running Commentary!

It's super effective! Ichigo is in critical condition!

Ichigo tries to run away!

Can't escape!

Aizen uses Constructive Criticism!

Critical Hit! It's super effective!

Ichigo faints!

Aizen wins!

Moral of the story: Aizen is a pervert with a fetish for voyeurism (and maybe bondage) and probably has the biggest stash of blackmail material in the whole of Soul Society. Oh… and always check for cameras before you're going to do anything you don't what posted on the internet.

 **P.S**

 **I'm a little shocked at all the positive feedback I got for the A03 continuation, along with the criticism that I will keep in mind. I guess this means I will have more for that account and see if I can get better.**

 **Thank you to all who read it and gave me advise.**

 **I hope you all have a good day and enjoyed the story so far.**

 **Fanboy913**


	27. Chapter 27

**All right new chapter for all of you and once again thank you to Aroneden for helping with the editing, he had to make over a thousand corrections so my hat is off to him.**

 **So without further ado enjoy**

 **Oh and after this chapter I have a new side story on An Archive of our own under Fanboy913. Just wanted to let you know that was updated to.**

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The nap ended with a light knocking, but before he even opened his eyes he sensed who was standing outside the door. "Come in." His voice was a little rough from sleep, but the words were understandable.

There was a slight pang of guilt in his gut at the relief he felt when he saw Tsubasa come through the door. She was the one girl that, right now, no one in this whole realm was vying for or trying to threaten him because of. Sure back on earth there was her dad, whom he had been told would not approve, but that was a literal world away.

She had changed her outfit and as he looked up and down at the tight fitting yoga pants, the sporty tennis shoes and the tight white t-shirt a flare of arousal and pleasure, that such a sight brought, fully woke him from his sleep haze.

"They send you to come get me?"

"Nah," She waved a hand, "I just thought that you could use some conversation."

Well, well, well, he was not the only one learning to read moods. "That sounds amazing."

She smiled at his words. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine, I was warned about this. I expected it but," He shrugged, "It grates, you know, that Lord Corvos," He rolled his eyes at the title, "he just looks at me and makes assumptions. It's been happening my whole life and it never gets any easier. Most of my education teachers did it, Soul Society did it, the Espada did it and now a fucking Devil in another dimension does the same thing." He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "There are more causes for it than me, I know it, I get it, but it feels so personal when he focuses it all on me. More personal than I have ever experienced before."

"That's because you love her, silly." The words hit him like a truck. He had never said that word to any of them yet and, like the idea of sex with them, it felt like the first time the word was uttered should be special, should have meaning. She smiled at him. "I think part of you is afraid, the idea of losing her hurts."

"I am not going to lose her," His voice was hard, "I'm not going to lose any of you."

She shivered at that declaration and, judging by the way two points appeared against her tight shirt, she was both not wearing a bra and aroused. "I like the sound of that." She began to stalk over to him and he did nothing as she set herself down on his lap "So how far did you and Serafall go?" he did not bother to deny it and decided to simply answer the question.

"Hardcore third base." The response was automatic as his brain did not even consider lying.

She nodded as a flash of annoyance crossed her face. "When I talked to her about it she left it all up to my imagination what happened."

"Levi-tan?"

"Yes, Serafall Leviathan, I talked to her before we left the Gremory household." She sighed. "Tell me, did you initiate or did she?"

"She asked, but I accepted."

"Guess I'll have to be bolder then. Really, a six hundred year-old love rival is not fair, they don't have to go through all the hang-ups and nerves."

"How she acts has more to do with her experiences in life, two wars and a very stressful job." He met her gaze. "And I want to make clear that there is no rush, no matter what I might want, your comfort is far more important to me."

"That's the thing, baka, I have wanted to do more for some time." Her expression shifted back to one of promise. "I guess I just needed a push."

Ichigo gulped at the lewd images that flashed across his mind, his eyes flickered to the clock in the room and she followed the look. "I know there is not enough time for anything now," She leaned forward and kissed him lightly, "But I am going to stay like this, so," The words tickled his ear she was so close, "No touching." His hands twitched with the desire to defy that order.

"Now what else should we talk about?" She said with all the innocence she could muster. "Perhaps you could give me details on how much you liked my bikini."

"Keep pushing and something is going to break." He warned.

"That sounds awesome." She deliberately shifted her hips and he forced back a groan. "What would you do to me I wonder? If you snapped?"

He was about to give a heated response, but that would not help. So he leaned onto her shoulder and sighed. "Thank you, for distracting me."

The Rook wrapped her arms around him. "No problem, though, if you come by my room tonight I could be more of a distraction." Her mouth twitched. "Or we could just talk whatever you're comfortable with."

"Whatever _we_ are comfortable with," He corrected, "I don't exist in a vacuum."

"Hmm," she grumbled, "stop acting so soft."

"What?"

"I like being treated rough… I think." She added after a moment. "Or at least that is the porn that turns me on, so I really want to try it."

There was an absurd comfort in that she felt she could say things like that to him. "I mean if you tell me to do something I will do it… unless," he grimaced, "How extreme was this porn?"

"Spanking, sometimes handcuffs, rough sex, and a few other things in that genre. Nothing like knives or candles, or really extreme ropes and stuff like that." She laughed. "So really generic rough stuff. Oh, there was that on time I watched someone stuck in a wall, but the point of that is you do not know who is taking you so that's no good."

"Ok, ok," He hurried to quiet her before she could spawn more images in his head, "I got it, though I will reiterate, I don't feel ready for full on sex just yet."

"I will keep that in mind, though I'm going to want details on what you did with Serafall so I don't get cheated out of what I want to do."

"You know if you asked Serafall directly she might tell you."

"Ya, but she's a Maou." the Rook replied.

"She is also a person. A lovely, kind and loving person and getting to know her would be good for both of you."

Tsubasa was quiet for a few moments and he was fine to leave it that way. With his head on her shoulder he could smell her scent, the natural smell of hard work and teenage girl.

"That tickles." She mumbled as he kissed her neck. She made a sound close to a squeal as he did again on the more sensitive curve of her neck. "Ok, ok, I will try. I'll even call her Levi-tan when I do."

"That alone might get you her normal friendship."

"I can also ask her about her show, I'm a big fan."

"Scratch that, you will get her undying friendship."

"Humph, like it us that easy."

"Friendship can be easy, trust is slow." At least in his experience.

"I thought trust was part of friendship."

"Not always." He shrugged.

There was a knock at the door. "Ichigo," Sona's voice called out from outside his door, "It's time to gather."

"On my way." Tsubasa moved off of him and he stood, adjusting himself to a semblance of decency. "Come on Tsubasa." There was what sounded like a loud sigh and the door opened as Sona peeked into the room. Her expression was flat and annoyed as and Tsubasa did not help matters by grinning at her. "'Sup, Kaichou?"

It looked like a physical effort for the King not to give her Rook a tongue lashing. But Sona had changed somewhat from the girl he had first met. "Yura."

"I know Kaichou, I'm a bad girl." She glanced at him then back at her King. "Sona." She said, the word seeming odd coming from her lips. It caught the girl's attention instantly. "Uh, well," Tsubasa hesitated, "When we have some free time could you show me around this place?" Well he guessed his advice could work for Sona too, but weren't they friends already? Well, yes, but perhaps not equal friends.

"Sure, I could do that." Her expression still said she did not understand why.

Then it hit him he was being stupid. You could be friends and still grow closer. Perhaps Yura and Sona had never really done anything together without the context of the Peerage, of a group activity.

"We should get going, the rest are meeting up in the main courtyard." They all left the room and began to walk, watching the house blur around them. On a whim he put one arm over each of their shoulders and pulled them close. Neither stopped him, Sona even blushed a little.

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The games went oddly well; Sona's father seemed on his best and most jubilant behavior and even passed up several opportunities to ram into him as they played various games of fun and chance.

When Sona had said central courtyard he had not realized she was speaking about an area the size of a large city park in the center of the vast Sitiri compound. Furthermore, despite what they had been told, he had gotten a good look at just how many people lived in this place: hundreds of servants, perhaps a thousand other personal, some Peerage members but many family and friends, grandchildren and their families. Sure this place was the size of a city, but it still seemed like so many even if the space could afford so much more.

After the games he and Saji had been escorted to a pond-sized bath with spells built in so that one only needed to swim around and relax as they were cleaned head to toe, skin rejuvenated, aches and pains soothed. The affair had been a silent one however, Ichigo had offered to let Saji have his say right there, but the boy wanted to wait until tonight. So they were quiet and stayed a respectable distance from the other.

Once that had been accomplished they were taken back to their rooms where fresh and well- fitted suits had been prepared. And that was how the two currently found themselves standing in a stadium sized dining room. It was filled with tables and comfortable chairs, well-made and practical lights illuminated the hundreds of tables set with food and drink to feed an army. An army it was, if he had to guess he would have said every person in the compound was present.

"Itsygo!" He turned and caught the flying Arrancar with a skill now instinct after all the times he had been tackle-hugged. As she impacted he spun, bleeding off the force, making three full rotations before coming to a stop with the child in his arms.

"Nel," He replied, hugging her against him, "How was your day?"

"Nel's day was great! Mori took Nel to go play with a lot of children, we played tag, hide and seek, run from the Mori." Ichigo glanced at Nel's babysitter who just smiled gently. "Mori is really good at tag, if she was a Hollow playing Nel's game of eternal tag Nel would be dog chow."

"That's… pleasant." He said and reached up to sit her on his back. She gripped him with a strength at odds with her small frame. "I'm going to take her to eat with me." He told Mori.

The maid nodded and with a bow turned and made her way to a table with six other women… who all looked just like her. They welcomed her with quiet words and controlled nods. "Huh." Well that was interesting, he mused, as a servant eased them to the center of the room where the main table had been placed on a raised dais. Currently it only had one occupant, though places had been set so it would accommodate Sona's Peerage, her mothers', the Peerage of the man sitting there already and two extra seats.

With only slight trepidation Ichigo was seated next to Lord Falcon Corovs Sitiri while Saji, the lucky bastard, was placed at almost the opposite end of the table. Schooling his face with calm neutrality he took the proffered seat. Nel crawled up his back and slipped small legs around his neck, using the top of his head as a place to rest her chin. That got more than a few glances from those in attendance but Corvos took the cake by giving a full belly laugh. "She's adorable and your familiar, I would almost feel cheated except I got a good one too." A squirrel the size of a Shiba Inu appeared on the man's enormous lap and unrolled itself making a clicking sound glancing around with its large eyes. It glanced over him with seeming indifference and paused as it looked at the Nel perched atop his head. "Hello." The Arrancar said with a big smile.

With great dignity the squirrel nodded at the toddler, gave its master an affectionate nuzzle and vanished under the table where it crawled up onto the central support into a hole that Ichigo suspected had been designed for it and settled down again. "That little girl is a descendant of the great Ratatoskr." He said proudly.

Ichigo nodded politely not having the faintest idea who that was. "Where are the rest?" He asked instead as Nel jumped down and went under the table...he could sense her move next to the squirrel. Pleased clicking sounds told him whatever she was doing the other familiar was happy with it.

"They are getting ready, my wife and sister both like to take their time and I have learned patience from them and compromise."

"Oh?"

"Yes, a situation where both people come away with something they want, like who gets to spend the night in our wife's bed."

Far too much information, more things that he never wanted to know. Even now Venelena's comment about her and Seras as casual lovers played out images in his mind that he did not need to see.

"So I will keep it simple and direct, you are not good enough for my daughters." He said the words without rancor, or anger, or even pleasure. "Serafall is the Maou of our people. Her position is delicate; a marriage to strengthen such a position will not only be good for her, but our people as a whole as well. Sona, in case you do not know, has big plans, she wants to revolutionize the Underworld education system. To break with uncounted years of tradition in an act that has the potential to bring down the current state of Nobility."

The man turned his body so his full frame was facing him. "Now, I do not think it will go that far, the Seventy-Two families have always adapted when necessary, but still, that is the battle she is facing. Such an act requires weapons, favors, capital both political and otherwise, alliances, planning and backers." The man set his eyes on him and they did not waver. "Sona is young, you are young, first love can and often does fade. Serafall is old beyond her years, scarred by war and bound by her position of power. You, despite how she might feel right now, are a distraction in the long run. That is what you are boy, someone in the right place at the right time with the right attitude to attract their attention. You are a weakness that neither can afford, and while I saw your actions against Riser's Peerage and admit you might have some strength, but you are no Sairaorg and you cannot support them as you are."

"And who decided that?" He was surprised how calm his question was. Hell, he was surprised at how calm he felt.

"What?"

"I will be a weakness, who decided that? What we feel about each other is only a passing circumstance brought on by luck? Who decided that? But most of all I am weaker than you?" He leaned forward. "Who decided that?"

He had the man's absolute attention. "You think you are stronger than me?"

Ichigo ignored the words. "Furthermore do you think your daughters are not capable of making their own decisions? Sona runs a school, Serafall helps run a people. Both are mature, both know who they are and what they do. And they chose me as worthy of them; does their opinion mean nothing to you?"

Corvos sighed. "They grew up hearing of how my wife picked me from the moment we met. How she seduced me and bound me to her by bonds of love, all of which is true. We, however, were in a school where everyone brought something to the table. You could fall in love with any of them and know they would be both a match for life and politics. Both of them refused to attend such a place where they could have gained people that would have helped them."

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say Serafall stopped you from forcing Sona to attend just as she has made it clear you have no direct power of who and whom they chose to love."

He meant that to draw a reaction from the man, but Corvos just nodded. "Just so, she has the power and authority to make such a statement. She earned it through her own efforts and will, and with her title of Maou I have to obey her wishes." The man grinned. "It is part of the reason I have learned to compromise." He spoke the next words in a low tone. "So what do you want Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Nothing," He shook his head, "There is nothing you could offer me, nothing I want from you."

"I could get you as many women as you wanted no matter what kind. I could set you and your descendants up for life in perpetuity. I could get you access to many secrets of power, teachers and books, artifacts and knowledge. I could set you up as a King Piece with your own Peerage, or if you wanted to go into our politics I could give you the full backing of our family. Does none of that tempt you? Does none of those ideas tickle you fancy and if not that then what? Speak your wish and I could make it happen."

Ichigo just smiled a little, closing his eyes letting his senses fill with the ones who were close to him, those he loved, those who had become his friends and family. "I know you cannot bring back the dead and even if you could, I would not do it. Mom would never forgive me if I did. The only thing I have ever wanted was for those I loved to be kept safe. To protect those that I chose and be the Lord of my own Soul. I have all of that Corvos, I want for nothing beyond that. I am a Guardian, nothing more nothing less. If they choose to give me their hearts and I give mine to them. Well, I will guard that with just as much of myself as I would give in defense of them!"

"And how much is that?"

"Everything I am, everything I will be or have ever been. Those who I protect deserve nothing less."

He finally got a reaction from the man. "You're a fanatic."

"I don't know, but I'm not burning anyone at the stake, so there is that."

"So nothing will persuade you then?"

"They can tell me to leave them, but not you."

"Perhaps force is the only way then?"

Ichigo laughed. "We both know Serafall would not let you do that." The man's cheek twitched.

"I could make you life very hard."

"Again Serafall." The word in itself was an argument.

"I could make your family's life very hard."

And just like that, the mood changed. Power swelled, just under the surface of his skin, Zangetsu ready to manifest. "I would not let you." His entire body tense all at once ready for combat.

"I would not attack them." He scoffed, throwing Ichigo off guard. "I, for example, might now own the loan you father used to build his clinic. And would it not be a shame if things came due or expenses went up?"

He forced his breathing under control and spoke. "One, I am part of the Gremory Peerage. If I needed to I could ask Rias and get money. Two, I could ask the same thing of Sona and your wife and expect to get the money and some questions as to why I needed it." Corvos smirked at that. "Three, Serafall. Four, I somehow doubt you would do something to asinine because you acting in such a way is guaranteed to earn you the enmity of both your daughters. And five," He paused for a moment his eyes flickering blue. "Me."

"That is yet another implication that you think you are stronger than me."

"I am."

A grin split the man's face. "Care to test that?"

Ichigo glared at him, his blood still boiling from the threat to his family. "It would be my pleasure."

"Good, tomorrow then." The man relaxed, a smile of pure victory on his face. All at once Ichigo felt like an idiot, had this been what the whole conversation was about?. Lord Corvos smiled at him as that thought whirled in his head. "I can be sneaky too, I am an old Devil after all, and manipulating people comes with the job."

Lesson learned Ichigo sighed closing his eyes. "Noted." The man laughed.

"You as much told me what buttons to press when you called yourself a Guardian. I just took an educated guess about the debt." He waved a hand. "That will be paid off tomorrow as compensation for the threat, false as it was, and tomorrow I get to test your metal before you take my daughter out on a date."

Ichigo kept his face impassive, he had not had time to plan a date with Sona yet, what was the man talking about, or was this another manipulation?

There was a flash of cold air beside him and a minor thunderclap of cracking ice. Serafall arrived and for a moment he was surprised at the lack of her magical girl costume. But it was replaced by humor as she had chosen that red China dress that she had worn on his first double date with her and her sister. "Hiya." She said before giving him a firm kiss on the lips. Something that felt like a metaphysical middle finger to her dad. "Good to see you again, I could get used to this every day."

"Sera." Corvos nodded still looking relaxed.

"Dad." Serafall acknowledged.

"How was your day at work?"

"Pretty good actually, only one species ending issue to deal with today."

"The war hawks at it again?"

"No actually. Some morons in the Bathin family created a homunculus called it Bubanjubon and with a name like that it does exactly what you think it would. We had to have Sirzech wipe the place out of existence as well as about half a mile around just to be sure."

"I assume that included the personnel?"

She shook her head, "They were already dead when I got there. Thankfully Ajuka had some idea of what we would find and had us in his suits. Otherwise...," She shrugged, "The diseases that thing created were quite virulent."

"Hmm, well, not as bad as the bomb those idiots in House Vapula were making."

Serafall nodded. "Ya we had Sirzech destroy that too… we have him destroy a lot of things."

"Absolute Destruction is a very useful power."

"Ya, but enough about work." She pulled out a black card from her purse and handed it to Ichigo, along with a list. "Saved you some time in finding the best place to take my baby sister. These are all of the ones I know of that I think would meet her criteria. You can talk to either my mom's or Rias and her mom, those four should be able to give you an idea of what to expect. The card will pay for everything and keep it afterward and use it for whatever...except prostitutes," she paused for a moment, "Unless I'm there and get to use them too."

Ichigo made a sputtering noise, thankful that he did not have any liquid in his mouth at the moment, the whiplash of her topics sending his mind spinning. "That won't be necessary," He forced out, "Why the hell would I need anyone else?"

"I don't know," She shrugged, though her eyes sparkled, "You are a man."

He put his hand to his heart. "I'm hurt."

"Well, a card filled with unlimited money should help ease that, right?"

He stared at the solid black card. "Are you really sure about this? I mean..." she shut him up with another much longer much deeper kiss that caught the full attention of everyone in attendance. He blinked a little in a daze as she let go, her mouth quirked in a self satisfied grin. "Guess that answers that." Ichigo mumbled.

Corvos laughed at the sight. "Not very skilled is he, daughter dearest?"

"Not yet, but he is a very fast learner with that mouth of his."

Her father had been taking a drink and spit it out, coughing and looked like he was about to jump across the table at Ichigo before remembering who was there. He put down his drink and wiped himself off with ease effective motions and nodded. "I see."

The tone of his voice made it sound like Ichigo might be having to deal with a murderous father tomorrow rather than an angry one. Before Serafall could egg him on any further there was a sound and the rest of the women arrived. Saji, from his spot where he had tried to remain very small and very much unnoticed, let out a sigh of relief. The rest of his Peerage were dressed to impress, in fact this was the first time he had seen several of them in such attire. Tsubasa had gone with a deep purple number that strapped over one shoulder leaving the other bare, there was a slit that ran up one leg to show a nice bit of tanned skin when she moved, with the high heels drawing even more attention to the motion. Sona chose black this day, with a classic two straps over the shoulder dress with a Spanish frilly hem that covered her whole lower half, including her shoes.

Inoue showed up in the dress which she had worn during her time in Hueco Mundo, covering nearly all her skin but showing her chest to amazing effect. She walked beside Tsubasa who was whispering something to her that made her face go red.

Tsubaki and Reya both wore red dresses though they were just as modest as their Kaichou. Momo and Rakuko wore dresses of blue and green, they had opted to go with a small amount of cleavage and bare shoulders. He noted that neither of the girls made any special attempt to sit next to...to perhaps their former crush. He did not know and Saji did not seem to notice, Tsubaki ended up on one side of him and then other ended up being Sona's mother.

The Lady Sitiri had come in what Ichigo could only guess was her preferred method of dress, because he could not think of any other reason for it. The dress was sheer cut with a dark blue, the whole of the back was open to viewing and the décolletage was quite abundant. No one in the room seemed surprised or shocked, a few looked and enjoyed looking, but other than that did nothing. Beside her Lady Sebra wore a dress with earthy tones, its cut and style matched her wife, but somehow the joking nature of her bearing made it look like a subtle jibe at her wife's choice of dinner wear. Not that the woman seems to mind as Seras moved her hand behind Srebra and fondled something.

However when Sebra saw her daughter she said something quietly to Seras and moved over to the table at a quick pace. Sona sat down on his other side and Sebra sat down next to Serafall and embraced her daughter in a deep hug. That left Lady Seras to sit down next to her husband with Saji of all people on her left side, with Inoue beside Tsubasa across from him.

"Hello dear." She said as her hand passed though his blond hair, the boy stiffened and for a few long moments took the time to stare down Lady's Seras's dress before catching himself going red and firmly looking away, but not before giving her his own polite greeting. That seemed to amuse the women greatly as she favored her husband with a kiss. "I do hope you have not been too hard on our guest." She whispered.

"No dear we have come to an arrangement." He gave a gimlet smile to Ichigo.

"Really now and what is that?" He felt Sona stiffen beside him and heard her through Communication.

"What is he talking about?"

"We are going to have a little sparring match tomorrow, you see, after he has come to the conclusion that he can't bribe me to go away." Sona's hand tightened on his.

"Bribe you?" Seras glanced at her husband who looked the picture of innocence.

"You know the usual Devil stuff, wine, women and wealth, for a twist he also threw in political power as well."

The liquid in all the cups in the entire room vibrated as Sona glared death at her father. She did not notice it, but Ichigo could sense her power swelling. The storm of emotions even brushing against the hidden well of power in her core.

"Oh darling, darling, I don't remember giving you permission to offer any such thing." Her voice was light and soft, all the more deadly because of it.

Corvos grinned. "I know and I was lying." That caught both mother and daughter off guard. "I was running off the assumption that everything he told us was true so I just wanted to make sure." He nodded. "Did not so much as bat an eye."

For a moment both women seemed at a loss for words. "Like I said we came to an agreement, he wanted to test my spirit, now he wants to test my body."

"Hmmm" Serafall grabbed onto his shoulders. "As much as I love that scenario in my smut, I'm not going to let that happen here."

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed that statement. Sona looked utterly horrified as images played inside her brain.

Corvos and Ichigo looked at each other then at the Maou who grinned like a naughty child. "Hmm, well played daughter." Seras said. Both men broke out into laughter as Sona hid her face in her hands. The idea was just so funny and random, it shattered the tension for a moment. No doubt her intent, which, if he were to guess, meant she approved of the situation. Guess she trusted in his power a great deal.

"Oh dear, this night has gotten off to an interesting start, perhaps a toast is in order." Sebra said, gently nudging her daughter.

Serafall obliged raising her glass; the room went silent as the Maou spoke. "To friends, family and loved ones, long may they live." The statement was met with the agreement of a thousand throats as they raised a glass and drank.

"Now," Lady Seras said into the silence that followed, "It is time for food I think."

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Stating that the food had been good would be an understatement; this had been a meal, not inspired by earth, but rather the native cuisine of the underworld. There had been vegetables, fruit, and meat the likes of which did not exist in the mortal world. Drink, strong and heady, of which he drank enough that Sona politely and firmly told him to stop and for good measure turned the liquid in his cup into water. Now he was not drunk or buzzed yet, his constitution was far too high, but the Devils had somehow managed to make wine and spirits taste good without having to acquire the taste...truly they were creatures of pure evil.

No, what he had overindulged in was the food, and even then the stuffed feeling was fading fast. The feast itself had lasted late into the night, laughter and song replacing poise and elegance. It had been, dare he say, fun to be part of something like that. Sona had watched her Peerage take part and to those who knew her enjoyed it herself. However after it was over she had made them drink a great deal of water and told them to turn in. Saying that if her father was going to have to fight him tomorrow all of them were going to be there rested and ready. When he had asked her about what she had kissed him on the cheek and walked off with the females of the Peerage muttering to herself. Honestly he feared for her father.

Neither he nor Saji had spoken the whole time, both had taken an hour to recover from the feast and once he had sensed the boy moving he had forced himself to his feet, dressed in his far more comfortable jeans and shirt, both of which were feeling a little tight but otherwise fine, that would teach him to overeat like that.

The house blurred as he found himself in the grand courtyard, stepping out into the crisp night air, Saji was waiting, hands in his pockets, his expression nervous, but determined. They also had someone else watching. They were doing so from quite a distance away, well beyond the range of even Devil hearing, but he did not see any reason for the Lady Seras Sitiri to be out this late alone and staring in their direction.

"Alright, I'm here," he paused for a moment, "We going to Duke it out or something?"

"Ha ha," Saji replied turning to fully face him, "I have no desire…" He paused, "In my head, yes, I would love nothing more, but we both know the outcome of that in the real world."

As of this moment, yes they did. "You need to break up with Sona."

Well, at least they were not dancing around the issue. "Why do you think that?"

The boy let out a breath and took a step forward. "Because it's not good for her, She is the kind of girl who deserves all the attention from her partner. Not what is it now, an eighth? You say you're all about protecting people, start by protecting her heart." He sighed. "We are going to live for centuries Ichigo, a practical eternity that you would only give her part of yourself for."

Ichigo tilted his head, his lips pressed into a thin line. "How many girls do you need until it will be enough? How can you justify it? We were human, man! I don't care what Tsubaki says about how our instincts and thoughts change. Sona deserves better, she needs better. Hell, even if it is not me, it should not be you."

"Why not?" He whispered.

Saji gestured at him. "You just walk into our lives out of nowhere, they all believe every word you say. Sometimes I think all of them are wrapped around your finger. Because you're helpful, because you say nice things, because you're willing to die? We are all willing to die for her, what makes you so special?"

The boy frowned. "Something about you draws in everyone, and not only that your power is infecting all of us." Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "My Gear might not be able to absorb it directly from you, but if the energy is in my body, it has no problem. So what the hell are you doing, what have you done to my family?"

"It is not something I can control, Reiryoku is always leaking into the area around me, it latches on to everything, especially those with a connection to me."

"And what does it do then?"

"It adds to their power."

"So simple? They would all lap that up, but what does it do to us, what does it change? For all I know the fact that they like you is because your soul is swimming around in theirs. Maybe that's why the girls are all over you, and I don't care what you do with any of them, but her. I've watched Sona go thought such a drastic change in the last few months I barely recognize the Kaichou that changed my life!"

Ichigo let out a breath. "One, if that was the case why aren't all the guys attracted to me, and two, you changed a great deal In a short amount of time. You went from a lazy bum to an active student in what a week or two after you spoke with Sona once?" The boys mouth moved silently for a moment.

"One, no just no, two that's not the same, I was human."

"Everything can change Saji, I've changed because of Sona and the others, and you changed because of me."

"Stop that," He muttered, "We are not putting pieces of ourselves in you!"

"Sona did, and so did Rias, it was their power that turned me into a Devil."

"And you keep doing that," He snarled, "You speak as if every word is truth and you know it. Nothing about this makes sense, you are corrupting everyone around you. You take and take and take. Will it ever stop?! If you really love Kaichou, you would know that whatever you are is not good for her."

Ichigo stepped closer. "Do you really think that?"

"I don't know what to think!" He trembled in place. "I don't know how to think, you came in and everything is different, no one acts like they are supposed to."

"And it's all my fault?"

"Yes!"

"Saji, do you know how I know that I could not leave Sona to someone like you?" The boy blinked as rage flickered in his eyes. "Beyond the fact that it does not seem to occur to you that I want her, that I want to be with her. I am not giving her an eighth of myself, I am giving her all of myself, every part of me. Beyond the fact that I know I'm not perfect, I know that you, as you are, cannot make Sona happy."

"You, you, you bastard!" He tensed and his hand was suffused in a green glow as his Sacred Gear manifested.

"Not once have you said a word about what she wants." Saji's mouth snapped shut. "Do you think for a moment that she would not recognize a compulsion? Even if I could stop her from seeing my true nature, Serafall would. You have told me what you think to be the best for her, what you want for her, but where does what she wants falls into this?" His voice was steady. "She is an amazing girl, mature, wise and willing to learn, and knowing that she chose me."

The fire went out of Saji. "I would be better for her than you." The words were like a plea. "I loved her first, I knew her first."

"Then why didn't you do anything?"

He looked down. "I thought there was time; I never thought she would chase anybody." His eyes burned again. "Why you, why would she chose you and not me."

"Because I don't think she ever had any thoughts of romance with you." The words came out harsh and he did not even try to soften them; some of his own pent up anger was boiling out.

"You don't know that," He said stepping back, "You can't know that."

"Not for sure, no, but I do know she has been aware of your infatuation for some time and she has done nothing. She loves you Saji, she loves us all, but she doesn't love you the way you wish she would. Otherwise she would have done something."

The boys breathing sounded almost like sobs. "Even if it is not me, It still should not be you, it's not fair, it is not right."

Ichigo turned his back on him. "If this is all I am going to leave."

"You said she would not be happy with me, even though I would treat her like a Goddess. You still have not told me why I would not make her happy."

"That is very simple Saji, Sona is a person, not a goddess. And if you don't understand that then you have no business trying to win her heart." With those parting words he vanished.

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Saji fell to his knees, his fingers digging into the brick so hard the masonry cracked. That was not how it was supposed to go. He was not the one whose heart was supposed to be torn in two. The last words dug around his skull and he could not make sense of them. "Damn you." He sobbed. The act broke him and he let out silent tears into the cold night. Everything fell away and he barely even bothered to wonder who picked him up nor care when he was moved from cold to heat.

A gentle hand held him close, gently supporting him. Somehow the closeness, the feeling of skin against his own, the touch of another person who must have cared, felt soothing. "It will be alright child, crying is good, crying is natural and there is no shame in it."

The feeling of release certainly felt good, and he buried his face into the heat of whoever was holding him. He did not remember when he fell asleep, the heat, the comfort of touch and as he fought his way out of the darkness "How long was I out?"

"Well, that was not very long, you were only out for an hour at most." His head felt cool as it lay on something soft and pleasant. He opened his eyes which focused on a very nice pair of boobs for a moment before moving past them to the amused look on the woman's face above them.

Saji yelped in shock and made to throw himself off of the woman's lap, but her hands effortlessly restrained his struggle. "Now, now," Lady Seras said, "calm down Saji." When he did so she sat him up gently as he took a moment to get his bearings. They were in a small room compared to what he had seen, only a single fireplace, one couch and three chairs, one wall stuffed full of books, the other a shelf of alcohol and a large TV. The floor was a nice red carpet with just a little hint of mess.

Kaichou's mother was dressed in a much simpler outfit from when he had seen her last. He blinked as he recognized a school track jacket and gym shorts. Her eyes sparkled with mirth as he looked. "This sort of clothing is the type my wife likes to see me in, it also is useful for when I go on late evening runs."

The word evening brought the memory of a mere hour ago back hard as his gut twisted in a painful way. "I'm sorry that I interrupted you miss, I will leave." He made to get up, but her hand on his shoulder was more than enough to keep him in place. Her pure strength unbelievable.

"I think not dear, you had quite the conversation with your Peerage mate."

Oh gods, she had heard that? "Peace." She said as he fought to keep back the rising panic and mortification. "I heard it all," her was calm like Sona's, "and given the subject matter I thought you could use someone to talk to." The woman gestured around them. "This place is used by either my wife and husband, or any Peerage member that needs an ear, you are also now allowed here."

How in the world could he speak to the Mother of the girl he loved? The very thought was terror inducing. "Nothing you say here is going to leave this room and I am around three thousand years old child, I have heard it all." Still, he could not even think of what to say, what he even wanted to say.

"I know that look," she smiled and got up returning a moment later with a decanter and a full glass of a dark black liquid she handed it to him. "This will help you feel better." He glanced at it.

"Sona would not approve."

"Nor would she approve of you being a bad guest." Well, when she put it like that… he downed the whole thing without another thought, embracing the burn, the pain, as something to focus on. He blinked a few moments as the effects of the drink hit him harder and faster than any mortal sprit could. It made him feel loose and he leaned back on the couch.

Seras took her own drink and the decanter to the side. "There we go," She leaned back as well, "Now talk."

"Well, you heard everything I told him right?" She nodded. "Well, that is all there is to it. I mean, what else could I tell you?"

"I did, but I want to hear it from you." She poured him another glass. "One more should be enough to help you fully relax." The second drink went down a lot smoother.

Saji let out a sigh. "Thank you ma'am." She finished her own glass in a single swallow.

"You're welcome dear, and in this place, call me Seras."

"Ok Seras." He felt so light sitting there, but his focus seemed sharper as Seras held his gaze. The woman seemed so powerful up close. "Now, tell me all about it." He obeyed.

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Despite his fear Seras listened to him, there was no judgment, no surprise, only compassion. "Well," he said slurring slightly, "That's it." She handed him a glass of clear liquid. When he drank it Saji found the lack of taste the most intriguing thing about it. But moments later his head began to clear up some.

"So you have talked to him, you have his response, now what?"

"I," He looked down folding his hands in his lap, "I need to know what you think about what he said at the end."

"There is a time and a place to treat a woman like a goddess, there is a time and a place to treat a man like a god. But he is correct, we are just people, and you can only have romantic relationships with people."

"What and you can't with a goddess?"

"Not if you think yourself lesser, no. It is not even a matter of power Saji-kun, my wife and husband are equal when we are in private. That is how it should be between Peerages too." He watched the woman smile. "She is your King, but she is your family too."

"I don't want to be just family, it physically hurts when I think of Kaichou with him. Every time they kiss it's like a knife to my gut. I don't want to sound selfish, but if this is the way it is going to be. If I really don't have a chance…" he trailed off unwilling or unable to voice his next thoughts aloud. "I don't know what to do. I mean, I knew that talking was not going to work, but I still hoped you know."

Seras pulled him into a hug. "What you are feeling is ok, loving someone is not wrong." She felt tears on her chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "I really don't know what to do Mrs. Seras."

"Why not?"

"It would be wrong to try and do anything right?"

"That depends; if you mean improving yourself to make you a more attractive mate then I do not see a problem. If you mean sabotage the relationship then yes, I see a problem."

"You think I have a chance?" She looked down at him. "A small one, yes." She let go and he leaned back to rub at his eyes.

"Small" He shook his head. "Better than none I guess?"

"I will not interfere with my Little Sparrow's relationship, indeed I approve of her choice." Somehow that did not surprise Saji. "However if you want to reach for that chance then it will not happen as you are."

Ichgio had said that too but it was easier to hear it from her. "I am listening."

"If you want to become better, you want to make yourself more attractive to her, I would suggest two things. First, as much as it might hurt to take his advice, learn to see her as a person, to think about her as such. Second, any such growth you attempt cannot be done under her gaze. If you are seen to be slowly changing then they will get used to it, like an inoculation. For your best chance it will need to be a shock, a surprise, something that will make her look at you not as a little brother, but a man."

"And how would I do that?" His chest deflated.

"Well, I have and offer you might like to think about." Her eyes glimmered like the Devil she was. "Interested?"

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Oirhime gulped and fidgeted in place as she stood in front of the door with a large poster of a magical girl on it. She could sense the powerful person behind it, moving about. She was feeling rather foolish for even coming here. She really should have just kept her eyes shut that night on the beach, not followed Kurosaki-kun and Serafall-sama. Not hidden and watched them...do things. The very thought burned her cheeks. What she had seen them do, what she had done in response, and the humiliation when she realized that Serafall-Sama had known what she had done.

The only reason she had not died on the spot was that Kurosaki-kun did not seem to know nor had Serafall-Sama told him. _"I'm not mad." Serafall whispered to her. "If you want to talk, if you want advice, or someone to gang up on Ichi-chan, stop by when I am around, my door is open to you."_

But now that she was here she was piddling around like a frightened bunny. "It's been five minutes Inoue-chan." The Maou's voice made her jump in place. "You can come or I can drag you in, if that would make you feel better."

Her body moved on autopilot and she pushed open the simple looking door, Serafall-sama was lying on her bed. It was larger than the one in the guest room she was staying in, though much more messy with sheets and blanket bunched up. Orihime had to pause for a moment as the woman sat up; her body covered down to her thighs by a long t-shirt several sizes too big for her. There was a host of cute cartoon ponies on the front and a larger unicorn with a rainbow mane on the back. At the end of her bed was a table with a half eaten bowl of ice cream and a mostly empty bottle of something called Baileys. The walls were covered in posters with a variety of anime and video game themes. Inoue herself did not know most of them, but TV had never been something she watched that often.

The floor was clean though there was a filled trash can beside the bed, the entire wall the Maou of facing was one giant screen, though it was turned off right now. An open door on the side wall showed a large private bathing pool. Kind of like the one at Rias-san's house and the one Sona had taken them to after dinner. One last feature was a large refrigerator with a clean, solid steel look that must have had a lot of good things to eat. However the thought of eating anything else was enough to make her slightly queasy. How Serafall-sama could eat more, was way beyond a girl like her. "Levi-tan." She bowed her head respectfully.

The door closed behind her, as the Maou pushed herself into a sitting position. "Sup Inoue-chan?"

"Um," She put her hands behind her back, "I came to," Her face flushed, "Apologize for spying on you, that night at the beach."

"That's no problem, I let you do it." Inoue felt her knees go weak as the Maou shot her a wicked smile. "And from what I saw, you liked what you saw."

She almost fainted at all the blood rushing into her head. Serafall's face turned serious. "Sorry Inoue-chan, I teased you too much," She patted the bed, "Have a seat."

Orihime hesitated for a moment, but her wobbling knees would not support her weight for much longer. Serafall slid over as she sat down on the surprisingly firm bed. "You can relax Inoue-chan." There was an odd melancholy in the girl's voice.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous." Inoue took in a breath. "YousaidIcouldaskyouforadvice." she forced out.

Serafall paused as she worked out what Inoue had just blurted out. "Oh…" The brightness returned. "Oh!" She almost leapt off of the bed. "Advice from me?" The women suppressed something that sounded like a squee. "One second." Rolling off the edge of the bed onto her feet she pulled open her fridge and pulled out two cokes.

She frowned at them and frost formed on the surface. "There we go." She returned to the bed and handed to Inoue "Here have a sip." With a twist of her hand she popped the top off and after a moment Orihime took in a mouthful. "Now what kind of advice do you want?"

She tried to just say it, she really did, but all that came out was a murmur of something that might have been words. "Well have you tried telling him?" Serafall answered.

At the look of shock she received the Maou pointed at her ear. "Devils hear better, remember?"

Inoue looked down. "I wanted to, I wanted to tell him, to try, but I always got so nervous when I thought about it." Serafall watched the girl's face flush red. "I just couldn't."

"I know that feeling." Serafall smiled in fond memory.

"Really? But you're so confident." Orihime leaned forward. "I wish I could be like you."

"Willing to drag a man off into the night and have my wicked way with him?"

"Well, kind of." Her blush grew even brighter. "You just did it. You didn't dither or run away or just wait and hope he might notice you." The girl looked down at her lap. "Not feeling useless, not waiting until it might be too late."

"From what I understand, you have not done nothing these past few weeks."

The girl blinked. "What?"

"You got yourself transferred to one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Followed Ichi-chan across a dimension, used your inherent value as a person to bargain with my Sister for her help in getting what you wanted. You spied on myself and him, and now here you are seeking advice." The Maou grinned. "That does not seem like nothing to me Inoue-chan."

"Do you really think that Levi-tan?" Hope and insecurity played across the young girl's face.

"I said so didn't I? And Levi-tan does not lie...most of the time...when I feel like it."

Inoue coughed out a laugh. "That does not inspire confidence." Then a moment later. "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply..." Serafall interrupted her with a gale of laughter.

"It's ok Inoue-chan, you laughed, that was what I wanted."

"Sorry."

"About what?"

"I don't know."

Serafall's expression became soft and she pulled the girl into a hug. "Hey, you're part of my family now, you can talk to me like I'm anyone else." The girl looked frozen for a moment. "I'll bet you never had a big sister, so if you want to you can treat me as one. I've had lots of practice with So-tan and I think I am good at it."

Slowly the girl relaxed and nodded, though her head was buried in Serafall's boobs so all it caused was a jiggle. "That's better, though do know that So-tan will come first as she is my first younger sister."

"That's fair." Inoue shivered as she spoke in a very quiet voice."How can I be like you and get my feelings across? How can I make him look at me as someone who he would want?"

"Well, I know of several ways, though I can show you the easiest one right here right now if you want." It said something about the girl's trusting nature that she did not catch the ocean of mischief behind the words. Not that she was lying about it, what she said was true and correct but…

"Ok, show me please."

Serafall nodded gravely. "It even has the advantage of not using words so it could be even better for you." Inoue rapidly nodded her head leaning forward. "Also this is just practice between girls so it does not count as a first."

"First what?" Inoue asked.

She was completely unprepared for Serafall moving over her pushing her back onto the bed pinning her arms to the mattresses. She was even less ready for what came next as Serafall's lips sealed over the girl's own and compared to Ichigo her inexperience was complete. Pink lips parted with ease as Serafall plundered the girl's mouth with her tongue. Below her she felt the girls legs moving in stilted jerky motions. The sound of panicked surprise fading into pure surrender, when Serafall pulled away the girl's eyes were unfocused her mouth open with a bit of saliva running down her cheek. "There is no way," Serafall said in a conversational tone, "That he would be able to misunderstand what you doing that to him means." The girl just blinked at her looking bewildered. "Now, just imagine him having your reaction when you try it." That just got her another blink.

"Hmm, guess we will have to work up to that, can't have you paralyzed by a simple kiss." She put her hand on the girl's shoulder and pulled her back up, a gentle pat on the back sending just a hint of her Devil power through her.

"T-t-t-t-t," That restarted her mouth quick as anything, "That was my first."

"Just practice, it's not as real as what your first kiss is going to be like with Ichigo-kun." Inoue's eyes swiveled to hers. "Just imagine," the Maou said in her best temptress voice, "You pinning him to a bed or he pinning you to a bed and your lips meeting for the first time." She was, Serafall could see it.

"I don't think my heart is ready for that."

Serafall tilted her head. "Are you sure about that? You saw what we did on that beach, didn't you want to be the one in my position?"

The girl blushed and covered her eyes. "Yes." She whispered.

With that admission the Maou let her voice return to normal and she lay down on the bed. "There you go, that's the first step as I see it."

"What?"

"You said aloud what you wanted, you admitted it to someone. That is a start and a good one; I think that is enough for tonight at least. Though if you...want to stay and watch a movie with me I would not mind at all."

The whiplash of change that the girl witnessed in the Maou took her a moment to re-collect her thoughts. "All that was to help me?"

"Yes, that is what a big sister does, plus I enjoy kissing."

"I...I...thank you."

"There is a ways to go, but now that you can admit to me what you want to do, what you desire to do, we can move on to getting your confidence up."

"But what about kissing him to show that I like him?"

"Oh that will work, and if that is the way you want to go I am more than willing to help with that." She licked her lips, Inoue's taste still clung to them. "But I don't want you to faint while doing that, so I won't push."

Orihime closed her eyes for a moment and shivered. "It...it felt really good, is that what it is going to be like for him?"

"After I'm done with you it will be ten times better."

The girl opened her grey eyes and nodded face set. "Then please teach me Serafall-Sensei."

"Hmm," the Maou pondered that title, "That works. Yeah, Sensei, that's hot." With another nod. "I will help as a big sister and teacher should."

"Thank you." The girl leaned down and hugged her tightly in a motion of pure gratitude. "And I would like to watch movies with you, so yes, I'll stay."

The Maou closed her eyes as those words of simple gratitude washed over her, that was something that girl should treasure, the ability to speak in simple truths. To mean your words with all your heart, the thought of having a new friend was an intoxicating feeling. "All right, I was going to watch the new Seven Deadly Sins."

"What's the Seven Deadly Sins?"

That only made her grin even more. "Oh my, it's only Ichigo's favorite anime." She paused for a moment. "It's pretty good too, though it looks like we will have to start at the beginning since you have never seen it." Inoue had perked up at hearing it was Ichigo's favorite anime and nodded vigorously.

"Perhaps we can both find some cosplay to catch his eye." Inoue let out a meep of embarrassment at the thought. "Then after that we can watch my show"

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Ichigo paused his hand raised to knock on the door; he could sense Inoue and Serafall in the same room and had to wonder for a moment why. But they were both their own people and he trusted both of them. He forced down the excitement in his gut, he needed someone to talk to about what had just happened and Tsubasa had offered. If anything came out of it that was fine and more than a little exciting to think about it. However a kind ear was something he needed far more. He knocked on the door once and waited. "Come in."

He closed the door behind him as he entered and, "Tsu.." He started to say, but lost the ability to speak for a moment. The room was heated far past the point of comfort; there was a mat on the floor with a Tsubasa Yura currently in the middle of a rather distracting yoga pose. The pants she was wearing made the effect all the more poignant, blue fabric stretched over intriguing curves. The Rook grinned through her sweat matted hair as she slowly rose from the floor.

"You know, I did not think you would actually come by tonight." She walked over and flicked the air conditioning to a much more comfortable temperature. "I like you seeing me sweaty but," She looked at herself, "Not gross."

"Your joking right? I mean, you look amazing."

She flicked up a lock of hair that was stuck together. "Well you're a boy and I am in yoga pants so I guess you might think that." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Nothing about what you said was incorrect." He sank down into a chair and closed his eyes. "I'm here to take you up on that offer of a friendly ear."

"Of course you are." She shook her head and walked over to sink into the chair beside him. "All right shoot."

So he told her of his conversation with Saji, what had been said on both sides. "It sounds like you answered just about every point he made."

Ichigo shrugged. "It's got me thinking though, and the thoughts won't shut up."

"Well, tell me them and I'll see if I can shoot them down." He looked at her and something in the way he did make her blush. "What?"

"I'm so lucky to have you." The Rook gulped and looked away before her whole face could erupt.

"D-d-damn right you are." Her voice was a little shaky.

"My thoughts are that she is an Heir, she is going to be an important person in the Underworld, a Noble who will shape it in the centuries to come." He rubbed his hands together just to have something to do. "What if I do turn out to be a distraction, what if whatever I'm building with all of you is going to hinder her dreams?"

"I seem to remember you telling Saji not to treat her as a goddess; however you should not sell Sona short either. Kaichou is more than capable of doing what she wants. When have you ever not seen her multitask at anything? Furthermore, do you think for a moment she is not aware or the risks, aware and working to turn them into strengths? It is not all about you, you are not the only one planning, and you are not the only one protecting or thinking of the future." She smiled. "We all are, that's what families do."

It was as if a weight was thrown off his chest. Such a simple logic, he was making the same mistake Saji did in reverse. Sona could do what Sona wanted to do, she had the talent, the mind and the power to do so. Who was he to question what she could fit into her life? He wanted to be part of it, she wanted him to be part of it and that was that. She could handle her roles and if she needed help they would be there for her.

"You know, right now you remind of a friend I have." He said aloud. "She would have been a bit blunter and more foul mouthed, but she would have pointed out much the same thing." He smiled at the Rook. "Thank you Yura, for setting my head on straight."

The Rook nodded and closed her eyes smiling for a moment. "Well if that's all, I think I need a bath." She opened them looking straight at him. "Do you need one too?"

Once upon a time he would have missed completely what that question really meant; he swallowed the sudden nervous energy in his chest and nodded not trusting himself to speak. Tsubasa Yura's expression was nothing short of predatory as she stood up and reached out a hand. "Well, come on then," She giggled to herself, "There is no time to waste."

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 **Man those tricky, tricky devils, the mothers, the father, the daughter, all with there planes on plans, on plans. If there was one thing Ichigo was never great at it was resisting manipulation. Honestly you could walk up to him on the street tell him som (Insert Bad Guy Group Here) has your (Insert loved one) and point him in the general direction of your enemy and watch him waltz through them like a blender.**

 **What does Mama Sitri have in mind with Saji, Is a fight all Daddy Sitri is after? And what about Serafall and her mother? So many questions so little answers.**

 **Oh and Tsubasa Yura is making her move she will not be left behind and has joined Serafall at third base... oh dear Serafall looks interested. Anyway I have a chapter up on AO3 (fanboy913) with what happens between her and Ichigo in the bath so if you want to read that have fun if not that's ok. The one plot relevant thing that happened will be mentioned again.**

 **As for Saji's argument with Ichigo that was the hardest part of the chapter to write as I was doing my best to make sure he had good arguments and at least could stand up for a little while. But I will have to see what you all think of it, tell me if you could think of any better arguments, that will help me for next time I do something like this.**

 **And with that out of the way onto the comments of the week.**

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 **Blindguy 95**

 _ **Sooooooo just read through everything... wow its awesome! Im really liking how you are charactorizing all the charactors and displaying a growing relationship between them. A worry i have is the ichigo is possibly too perfect. He doesnt really have any charactor flaws as far as i Can tell. Even though that is i am truly enjoying reading your story and cant wait to read more!**_

 **That is a problem I have, I love a good hero story and it can be hard for me to make meaningful flaws, I have tried to through in a few that he is working on but It would not surprise me if they are not enough. On this I will try harder in the future, but beyond that I am glad you enjoy the story**

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 **WindbornesWord**

 _ **This is pure fucking awesome and I should have been reading this weeks ago. Please update frequently, love how you are handling this. Also hope Rukia shows up soon! And Orihime is going to be Sona's Bishop right?**_

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 **No that was my mistake, I forgot that Sona had two bishops already so Inoue got the knight piece.**

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 **Hollowichigo 12**

 _ **The dream sequences with Aizen and the father son duo are interesting to say the least. For the father son duo it sounds like Soul Society has even darker origin than in canon. Also fear the paintbrush as it can be mightier than any weapon in the right hands. For the dream/training sequence with Aizen I must say that getting some of the more 'endowed' members of Bleach in sexy schoolgirl outfits with thongs is a stroke of genius in having someone try to maintain focus in that environment.**_

 _ **Once you wrote Corvus for the dads name I could only picture a bigger, meaner version of Corvo from Dishonored**_

 _ **On a side note I have a few ideas as to how the aunt got the mom pregnant but that is probably best left to the readers imagination.**_

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 **One you might be getting somewhere with that line of thought, two they are a really good distraction I agree. Now one can only shudder at the thought of what will happen when Ichigo manages to fully ignore them.**

 **I actually used the manga character of Count Von Vlad Dan from *deep breath* (Gunota ga Mahou Sekai ni Tensei Shitara, Gendai Heiki de Guntai Harem o Tsukucchaimashita!?) good god is that name long. I could not find his picture with google so I had to got the the manga itself Chapter 11 page 24 on**

 **That was my inspiration for the character.**

 **As to the last part that is probably a good idea unless I am feeling adventurous one day and write that story with the other side stories on A03**

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 **Vadi6776**

 _ **I swear this story keep getting better and better, great scene with the past of Saji injecting actual motives and personality to the character instead of simply making him a "ron the deatheater" we now know why he has that torch for Sona, I'm imaginaning a scenary where either Saji tries to defeat Ichigo to "win back" Sona or he confronts Ichigo and both come to an understanding (seems unlikely right now after Saji's declaration).**_

 _ **Also the scenes of Orihime didn't make sense until I read the aftermath of chapter 25 on ao3, so... Wow, did they make a jumpstart on the adulthood thing.**_

 _ **Rias reaction 10/10 loved all that segment, and Aizen's distractions, at this point he's messing with Ichigo for the lulz, the guy is probably very bored but Tia, Yoruichi and Unohana on thongs and skimpy students uniforms? that's just evil, how the hell do you concentrate with that around you?**_

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 **Glad you think the story is getting better, and I am also glad Saji is coming across sympathetic. As I mentioned in my AN I want him to feel like a person, a boy in love who is trying his best but his best is not good enough or at least not yet...hmm I wonder what Mama Sitri has planned.**

 **And yes Orihime did get quite the kick in the pants form that A03 chpater.**

 **And Aizen, Aizen, Aizen, the most magnificent bastard of this story and he has only been around for a few chapters.**

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 **Comment of the Week**

 **CyberDragonEX**

 _ **So, an interesting chapter, and while rereading it, I had a thought/several questions. If Ichigo's soul infuses those he spends time with/develops bonds with, does that mean he's going to eventually infuse Aizen? Does someone need to awaken his blessing for him to receive the benefits, or does Ichigo get those the moment they're infused with a bit of his soul? And finally, assuming the answers above are "Yes" and "the moment they're infused", what kind of boost is Ichigo going to get from Aizen?**_

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 **Why are you people so smart? I mean good theory =)**

 **Anyway Have a good day**

 **-fanboy913**


	28. Chapter 28

**Good god my beta reader does amazing work on my horrendous drafts that I send to him, all props and accolades to Aroneden for his hard work.**

 **Hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

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"Now, please write down the incantation I have just told you." Aizen said from his seat. Now, one would think that after a hot and heavy time in the baths arousal would not be a problem, at least until the next day. But nooo, the Yourichi and Rangiku figments had been alternating between making out, feeling each other up while giggling and generally making a lot of distracting noise. That would not have been a problem, except no matter how he turned his head they were always in the corner of his eye. Ichigo was starting to hate dream logic. He threw his paper, which was not real, and it landed perfectly on Aizen's desk. The man read it and nodded. "It only took twenty attempts, but you got it." His voice was calm, lacking the sarcasm that should have been there.

The figments vanished and Aizen gave him a nod. "Now I would suggest you practice all seven of the incantations while you are practicing your control. If possible you should to it in your spare time as well. Remember, while none of those have any power..."

"They nearly cover the cadence and length of the average kidos" Ichigo finished.

"This is an important part of the training and we will be doing this for months...well, months in here. You have done very well for the week of subjective time."

Dream logic could mess with your perception of time and Aizen had explained that the Hougyoku was making that more manifest, so long as he did not fight against it they could stay here for quite a while, though Ichigo had put a limit of a week at most.

Perhaps his dream of time passing was what caused the arousal...The room vanished and he found himself sitting across from the most terrifying man he had ever faced. He felt oddly relaxed about this, after all, they had not spent the whole week in school, just most of it. They had…talked...talked about normal things, little things, common things. It was downright disturbing, it made it seem like the man might actually be starved for conversation. Not that he would ever believe for a second anything Aizen told him about himself.

"You would have done well in the Academy. Memorizing those chants take an average of three semesters, you have two down in a week." Aizen paused for a moment. "I will have the external distractions raised."

Ichigo's eye twitched, but he refused to give the man the satisfaction of making him uncomfortable with only a few words. Something he had noticed or, knowing Aizen, had been allowed to notice was that the man himself seemed to have no real reaction to the figments. The way they looked dressed and acted, all according to the man's own mind, seemed about as inconsequential as a pencil. Aizen used them to distract him because it worked, because it was the tool that could be used while not driving him away. If fluffy animals would have been more distracting then that was what Aizen would have used.

As to what might intrigue the man Ichigo neither cared nor wanted to know. "Well?" The man asked. "Our agreed time is done."

And Aizen was right, he could leave...but there were questions he wanted to know. He could not trust the source, but they might give insight nonetheless. "Can you tell me why Devils cannot sense Shinigami and vice versa?"

"Hmmm, that almost sounded like a serious question Kurosaki Ichigo." Said boy did not reply. "You are being shown the history that will culminate in the answer. However, I will give that answer context. It is a survival trait and the factions that Soul Society fought, never ended their war against it." Around them the dream began to crack. "I look forward to our next lesson Kurosaki Ichigo."

The dream shattered and he opened his eyes to the dim light of dawn streaming through the windows. His chest rose and fell with the soft weight of Nel, his right arm held tight by Tsubasa Yura and his left by Serafall Leviathan...gods it was amazing to wake up to a scene like this. To know that they had chosen him to know they wanted to be near him. He almost could not bring himself to move even though he had to. Tsubasa did not stir as he removed his arm from her grip, Serafall woke up instantly going from full sleep to complete wakefulness in the space of a heartbeat. She smiled at him and let go of his arm.

With great care he laid Nel down where he had been, Tsubasa's arm began to move and wrapped around Nel, perhaps thinking it was his arm and pulled her close. The Arrancar's eyes fluttered for a second before she made a contented noise and went back to sleep. Both he and the Maou moved quickly and quietly, as he slipped on a shirt to go with his sleep pants and Serafall simply went from pajamas to magic girl in a dim flash.

Neither spoke until they had left the room and walked to the central courtyard. "So how was she?"

"Amazing." he responded finding a spot to begin stretching.

"Better than me?"

"You have around six hundred years on the girl Levi-tan, that is not a fair comparison."

"So, not quite as good then." The Maou preened before walking up behind him and helping him get a full stretch, either by pushing on his back or leg, she clearly knew what she was doing just as much as he did.

"Did she throw in anything new?"

"You could just ask her." He replied.

"So, that's a yes."

Ichigo sighed, "It's not a competition, I am more than grateful for whatever I get." He rolled on his belly as Serafall pushed his legs up.

"It's not a competition, it's research."

"Then you two could compare notes."

Serafall laughed. "You are really aiming for a threesome."

It took him a moment to process that. "What?"

"Telling us to give each other the sorted details, and advise." She made a sound with her tongue "Naughty, Naughty." He was thankful that he recognized her teasing tone by now.

"I'll tell you later," he said, "I need to focus on what is to come."

"That would be wise," the Maou agreed, "But not as fun."

"I think this is the point where I give motherly advice, but I think you have lived through most of it." They both watched as Sebra Sitiri phased into view. She was wearing red and white track pants and a tight white tee shirt with the track top tied around her waist.

"That's ok mom," Serafall beamed, "You were there when I needed it."

The woman walked over to them and shook her head. "Sometimes I don't feel that way." She wrapped her daughter in a hug from behind. Tellingly Serafall did not freeze up when she did so, speaking volumes of the trust the Maou placed in her mother.

"Mom," She chided gently, "I was born in trying times, we all did what we had to do."

In the tone of a woman that had this conversation many times before Sebra replied. "Having your child sneak off to war does not speak volumes about how good the parents were."

"All of you were half dead at the time," Her tone was still gentle, "You had to face Michael, the Archangel, trump card of Heaven, fully unleashed." She let the words sink in. "You three survived that and were able to come home and give me a baby sister. As far as I am concerned, that's parent of the millenium right there."

"Who is Michael?" Ichigo asked. "I'm not all that up to date on biblical figures."

"St. Michael the Archangel, Prince of Heaven and, by legend, the one who cast Lucifer out of Heaven when he rebelled."

"By legend?"

"Well, the original Lucifer and his lieutenants did not like that story. According to them, the first Maou was the first and greatest Devil. He created the Devil race much in the same manner that the Most High created the humans and Angel's."

"So what is the truth?"

Sebra gave her daughter a warning look, but Serfall just smiled. He could feel her power rising and encasing them in bubble to prevent spying. As she did that he turned on his belly and got into pushup position. Serafall sat down on his back and he went to work. Her mother's eyes looked a little moist at seeing them work together so well. "Well, I did not know until I...inherited the old Leviathan's stuff...and when I say inherited, I mean I tore his heart out and no one felt like stopping me from taking it. Anyway, as far as I can tell, Lucifer was an angel at first. He was great in power, wisdom, and beauty and did indeed try to overthrow his God, leading as many as seventy percent of Heaven in the attempt. Furthermore, the big man upstairs did not intervene in any direct or overt way."

Ichigo powered through the pushups feeling that this was a little easy. Serafall must have read that in his bearing because she moved over and her mother took a seat as well. Now this was more like it, his arms began to burn once more with effort. "However it should be noted that Lucifer, and the ones who would come to be known as Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodius, were the only Seraphs who stood for the rebellion. In fact, most of the most powerful Angels, including the current head of the fallen Azazel, fought with Michael in defence of their God." She paused for a moment. "Now the Old Leviathan, as I found out, liked to keep notes. The man had every battle he had ever been in on file, complete with all the tactics and outcomes, written in the least biased manner he could. That man really was a match for our Falbium, he only made one mistake and even then he could be forgiven."

He knew what she wanted him to ask and had no problem giving it to her. "And what was that?"

"A female Super Devil did not exist or at least those with the potential never had it awakened." Her voice took on a grim satisfied edge. "Until me." Oh dear, when Levi-tan made that vicious voice the darker part of him responded to it eagerly.

"It took me a while to find the record of the war in Heaven, but after an extensive read I found out that Michael did, in fact, defeat Lucifer...and the Leviathan and Asmodius and Beelazub...at the same time." Serafall nodded. "The Prince of Heaven can be really scary, though I should note, and believe you me the Old Leviathan sure made a point of this in _his_ notes, none of them were at the peak of their strength like they were in the War of the Three Powers. I don't think Michael could have beaten them all at once in that War."

Both women stood up as he finished and rolled over, Serafall stood on his feet as he began to do crunches. "That was when," She shook her head, "Their God did one of those weird things, once they were beaten he intervened and stopped Michael from ending them. He told them that he would be banishing them to the Underworld wastes and offered Lucifer a choice. The leader of the rebellion could leave Heaven with either his power or his wisdom. Naturally he chose power. Oddly when he was stripped of his wisdom most of his beauty was taken as well, I really don't understand how the big G operated...operates," she corrected, then smoothly continued, "So he and his rebellious kin were banished to the level of the underworld no one owned or wanted."

"So Devils are really Fallen Angels?"

"I'm getting to that Ichi-kun."

"Ok, then what about Lucifer's wisdom?" There was a flash of amusement that ran through his entire being, the source not himself, but other.

"Well the Old Leviathan thought that it was given to an angel who would come to be called Gabriel, who was already a Seraph at the time. Before his fall Lucifer Morningstar was considered the most beautiful thing in creation, however that title was passed to Gabriel who, by all accounts, far surpasses her forerunner. The Old Leviathan thought it because her grace was merged with the part of Lucifer's grace he left behind."

"Ok, at least the damn thing is not waiting around to bite us in the ass."

"Quite." She agreed

"You need to stand up and stretch again dear." Sebra interpreted. "One stretch at the beginning is not enough." With a shrug he stood and the woman got back to back with him locking her arms around his and bending forward to stretch out his back for a few seconds and then he would do the same to her.

"Thanks Mom." The Maou said. "Anyway, the Four Seraph were determined to leave behind any trace of their origins. They discovered that the Underworld had a natural effect on the body over time...well, the other three did, the first Maou became obsessed with growing stronger and pretty much focused on that."

"Why do you think he left behind his wisdom, could he have not grown his power back in time?"

"If I had to guess, and mind you I still consider his vaporized corpse an enemy, he could not bear the thought of not being in charge, of not being the greatest. None of his Lieutenants were made to make such a choice you see."

"Why then were they not?"

"Mysterious ways." Serfall said with a giggle.

Again an odd surge of emotion cut through him, this time satisfaction mixed with pity. "But Beelzebub and the others put together a major ritual, one that only worked because the First Maou was so powerful. As far as I could tell the spell affected every member that had come with them by making it as if they had lived in the underworld, and more importantly the mutating effects of the place, for millions upon millions of years."

"So, evolution in fast forward?"

"Kind of, magic was never the Leviathan's thing, but Beelzebub swears that he put in many sub spells and failsafes along with his near-godly understanding of Angel biology that even Akuja does not fully comprehend, to make sure the effect was beneficial."

There was another flare of satisfaction not his own at the words and something else, a hint of...insight. "So Devils are still creations of the biblical God, we still are connected to him."

The Devil women exchanged an uncomfortable look. "That could be argued."

'No', he thought, 'I know that was the truth, but why it is so important, why does it feel so certain. Like when I had known the right time to use my Shikai.' "And, as I was saying," Levi-tan continued, "The result was pretty good, the modern Devil you see today." She fondled her own boobs for a moment. "I would say It turned out pretty well."

"I would agree." Sebra copied her daughter, forcing Ichigo to turn away or risk a reaction he had no desire for right now.

"And now you know more about Devil history than everyone except for a few of the old House Heads and the current Maou...don't spread it around or," Her voice took on a thick russian accent, "I will break you."

"Understood Levi-tan."

"Ohhh, I love it when he calls me that mom."

"I know you do dear and I'm glad you found someone who is brave enough to do so."

With a smile Ichigo began to rotate his arms.

"So, with that fun little talk out of the way, what are you here for mom?"

"Well my wife had given me orders to even the playing field, as my brother has access to the records of Rias-san's rating game and thus a good deal of your boyfriend's capabilities."

'Some of them' Ichigo thought.

"Well, far be it from me to stop you." Serafall made a gesture and a park bench manifested and both she and her mother took a seat, Ichigo turned to face them allowing his body to hold still and recover for a moment.

"My family name is Amaimon, which can vaguely translate to Kings of Earth." She shrugged. "Not that there are many of us left, the War of the Three was hardest on those outside of the Seventy Two Great Houses. Our power lies in manipulation of the earth and the force of gravity upon it, for example." He watched her skin become crystalline, like that of a smooth diamond. "All of us can draw an Aspect of Earth into ourselves and as our skill in that ability grows you will eventually reach my level. Causing your body to have a diamond-like hardness with no weak points." Her normal skin returned. "Our Power of Imagination works easily and requires much less power when using earth spells or earth-related effects." She snapped her fingers and several pebbles began to spin around her hand. "We can all control the earth around us, which is even less taxing on our powers. My brother has reached the level of Steel in his body transmutation, which is quite acceptable as his true talent lies elsewhere."

Serafall nodded. "They did call him the Black Hole when mom and he went to school...and they were not talking about his stomach."

"Oh, he hated that nickname." Serba said fondly. "But yes, his skill is the manipulation of gravity united with his incredibly compliant mastery of," her mouth twitched as she tired to surpass a flash of irritation, "Fist of Stone." Her face said volumes of what she thought of the name. "His main strategy is the use of gravity to slow and hamper his opponents until they are forced into close combat whereupon he smashes them into a pulp."

"Good to know."

"Lastly," she sighed, "I have not seen him fight in awhile, but I know he has been training, so expect some tricks that even we do not know about."

"That particular lesson has been carved into my body many times."

"Good, then the playing field is about as even as on can expect." Her expression morphed from serious to playful. "Now that's out of the way and there is no serious talk I need to have." She stood up and marched over to him. "There is something I have been meaning to tell you mister."

Oh no, not more threats, he had more than enough on his plate already. "I wanted to say," she moved fast and he had not really been prepared. Her arms encircled him, pulling the boy tight against her chest. "I'm so happy my baby girl's found someone like you."

"Mmmmm!" He tried to reply.

"It's useless," Serafall called, "She's been holding back this whole time."

"You're tall, you're handsome, considerate, so much better that that other boring one," She glared at her daughter, "Who I told you was trouble."

"I learned, didn't I?" She replied, her voice slightly nervous.

"Mmmm!"

She stopped crushing him giving him a blessed chance for breath. "I was so excited I could barely speak!"

"Uhh..."

"Then I had to be all serious and I could not do what I wanted. Finally I have some quality time to get to know my future son-in-law." She hugged him again.

"Glark."

She spun around hauling him off his feet like a rag doll. "Oh, this is so romantic! The boy the sisters fall for and instead of a tragic fight to the death they share him. It's going to be great in my next erotic fiction!"

"Mmmm!"

"Oh! Oh!" Serafall jumped up. "Don't take this as an invitation in the real world but, what if the mom joins in too?"

"Ohh, triple insest to spice it up, the fans will love it."

"Mmm?"

"Oh, right, my mom writes erotic fiction in her spare time."

"Not up there with your show, but I do have my own following."

"Once I get him on the show I give you the license to write semi-canon erotic fiction in my miracle girl universe."

The women sniffed tears welling in her eyes. "That would make me so happy"

"Mmmm!"

"Hey mom, if my boyfriend spends any more time in your boobs I'm going to get annoyed."

Sebra blinked. "Oh, oops." Once again he took in a gaping breath.

"Don't worry honey," Serafall called, "There are worse ways to die." His reply was another large gasp.

"Ohh I'm just so excited," she sat him down on the branch and squeezed in beside him, "I want to hear it all, how you met, details of your first date, everything."

"Well," he forced out, "The first time I met her she almost killed me."

"Nah, just cryostasis until So-tan told me what to do with you."

"Aww, that's adorable."

"And for our first date he took me out to Ice cream."

His breathing back to normal Ichigo shook his head. "I think I was the only person who did not realise that was a date."

"Well you have gotten a lot better at noticing...though you still have a few major blind spots."

"More?" His voice cracked a little.

"Just one, better keep an eye out."

Perhaps if he was lucky it would be one he could say no to. "Now, now, don't focus on that young man, I am what they call a thirsty mother and I want to hear all about my daughters romance."

"So she can use it for her books." Serafall added with a giggle.

"Why?"

"Cause its young and fresh, and I am having way too much fun watching all the shades of red your face can turn."

Ichigo looked between the two of them, you could truly see the family resemblance between them right down to the wicked expressions. "Ok I give up, what are you planning?"

"Nothing important dear, just talk."

With a feeling of trepidation building in him he did so.

1

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1

"Good morning!" The voice of Lord Corvos was loud enough that if you were not already awake it was painful. From the look of the wincing that Sona and Saji were doing neither seemed to have had a good night's sleep.

Tsubaki as at her King's side armed with a cup full of some caffeinated beverage like an angel of mercy to the exhausted-looking girl. Momo and Ruruka looked fine though, in line with the mood of their friend and King, they wore serious expressions. Tomoe, at least, did not change herself, she seemed up and perky this morning and from the way she winked at a blushing maid who fled the room she might have had a similar night to him and Tsubasa. Speaking of which, the Rook had arrived with Nel on her hip and a look of consternation that said 'Why didn't you wake me up?' written on her face.

Sona, even in her tired state, had zeroed in on the scene and while she had not come to any conclusions yet, Ichigo could see the wheels turning in her head. Granted, slowly, but turning all the same. The Rook moved over to him with a very slight hitch in her step. At his sudden expression of concern she rolled her eyes sitting down next to him with a noticeable gingerness. "If you ask me if I'm ok, I will slap you." She told him before his mouth could open. "I am doing great."

Nel yawned. "Morning Itsygo." She stretched. "Tsubasa woke Nel up with a half asleep kiss." the Rook flushed.

"Sorry about that"

He glanced Sona's way, but she seemed to have missed the comment as she was downing whatever Tsubaki had given her. The Queen herself had noticed and shot both of them an amused look. "Well, we had and excellent night too." Corvos said, putting his arms behind his head and giving Lady Seras a loving look.

"That we did dear" she looked over all of them "To get this out of the way Corvos wants to have the little...spar" she did not sound for a moment like she thought that word was accurate. "In a rating space."

Levi-tan added "And Akuja was more than happy to provide one...I think he is bringing his whole lab to study you Ichi-chan."

Seras nodded. "Quite, I just did not want this to be a surprise."

"It means, of course, that we can go all out." Sona winced at her father's words.

'I'm going to be fine Sona' Ichigo sent over communication.

'My father is very powerful and we are all young. He has had thousands of years to hone his skills and there are not many who can defeat him in open combat. Perhaps a hundred people or so in the whole underworld.'

'So?'

'So? He is planning to hurt you, planning to make a point, even in a rating game you can still get hurt.'

'Sona, I don't plan on losing, I have beaten people like that before and will do so again, knowing my life.'

Her eyes lowered. 'But you should not have to, dad should respect my decision. He should not be allowed to hurt people just because he does not like them. I hate it, I hate this feeling, the thought of you being hurt is like acid in my blood.'

'I told Rias that she was stronger than Riser and I was right. And, while right now in skill and experience you are not your father's equal in power, you have the same ability as Rias.'

'What do you mean?'

'You touched it last night, the well of power in your core, you have the same potential as your sister and your best friend. I believe with all my heart that you can awaken as a Super Devil.' Sona spit out her drink, coughing, her eyes locked on his and, with that look on her face, anyone with a lick of sense could tell they were communicating.

To her credit she did not ask if he was serious, did not deny his assessment, after all she knew the story of how Rias had awakened. It was gratifying to know that she trusted him enough to accept his word on the matter. 'How am I supposed to awaken it then?'

'Rias did so when she was put under intense stress and managed to set it aside, to assert herself as her own person. I would guess the trigger is different, the stress part not so much, but the link. Your power, that you can use, does not reach the full strength in your core. Rias had to believe in herself, trust that she had the power. You however know yourself better than anyone and I fully believe you can reach it by yourself.'

'And then what?' she asked.

'Then do as you wish. In power you would be on a greater playing field than your old man, and he seemed to respect power.'

'You make it sound so easy.' She made a rumbling sound in her throat and only then seemed to notice that everyone at the table was staring at the two of them. Of course her peerage could hear everything, communication was an open line for the Peerage.

'Ya, I mean you're Kaichou,' Tsubasa said as if that fact was a fundamental of the universe, 'He is right.'

'He is right about that at least.' Saji said, even his mental voice sounded tired. 'I for one always knew you were strong, didn't need a fancy sense to tell me that.'

'And I will offer my help for whatever you need.' Tsubaki put her hand on Sona's and smiled. 'You do say that I know you better than you know yourself, I'll put that to good use this time.'

'It is very simple.' They all turned to stare at Nel who spoke in the communication, Ichigo had not realized that she was privy to that. 'You don't need any deep thought on it.' Her voice was that of the child she looked like, though Ichigo could hear just a hint of an older voice speaking. He could also sense a minor expenditure of spiritual energy on the Arrancar's part. 'Ichigo gained his power because of his desire to protect, Rias gained hers because of her desire to improve herself. Nel became what she is because Nel wanted more, Nel was given the aspect of death called lust which drives living creatures to excess. By embracing that aspect and channeling it, directing it, Nel became strong. Sona needs to find that spark which drives her and Nel thinks that by fully embracing it Sona will make the connection.'

There was silence among the communication "Wow." Momo said out loud after a moment.

"What the hell was that?" Tsubasa said looking down at the girl in her lap.

"Nel thinks that applies to all of you." The girl replied before starting to stuff her face with food.

Saji after moment said "Why is Lust and aspect of death and why was it given to a child?"

"Well," Seras said aloud interpreting the mental communication, "You all seemed like you had a good conversion, care to share?"

"Peerage business," Ichigo said smoothly, "Sorry."

"No, no, no trouble." she smiled. "Though it does feel kind of rude to do so at the table with guests don't you think?"

"Yes ma'am." They all said.

"Ma'am," She chuckled, "Now I'm starting to feel old."

"Not from what I saw last night." Corvos chortled.

"Dad!" Sona's face flushed. "Stop it!"

The man's booming laugh echoed through the room. "Right, right, too much information."

It was about this time that Sebra arrived, Serafall's mom had changed her outfit to a more formal...tux. Hmm, guess Serafall had not gotten her odd style of dress from nowhere, he was careful to give her warm smile.

"The Maou Ajuka Beelzebub has arrived and, while we did prepare for his personal staff, it seems the Maou Sirzech Lucifer and the Maou Falbium Asmodeus are in his company."

"Oh dear." Serafall stood up and took a moment to stretch. "Guess they all want to see what the Wildcard of Hell can do." She paused for a moment. "Wildcard of Hell, oh I like it, that's a great title." She glanced at Ichigo. "That is now your title by the way, so sayeth I, the Maou Levithan."

After a moment of trying to figure out what the joke was and giving up Ichigo raised his glass and said. "Cheers."

"Wildcard of Hell." Serafall murmured. "Yes, and the name Wildcard would be a great villain name for his character in my show." With those ominous words she moved out of the room and off to meet her compatriots.

"Well, if that is the case then I have a few dinners to rewrite." Saras stood and Sebra walked over to give her a quick peck on the lips.

"And I will take care of the seating and other arrangements honey."

Sona's mother let out a low moan of appreciation that had nothing to do with arousal. "You are a Sevil of mercy, Sebra"

"Someone's gotta be, you married my idiot brother after all."

"I..." Corvos said dramatically, "Do not disagree what what you have said Sis."

"I knew I trained you right." She replied with the tone of siblings who truly did love each other.

"Hmm," Seras seemed to pick up on the mood, "Sooo, any chance for that threesome I wanted?"

"No." They both said not quite suppressing a shiver.

"That is your birthday present and that day alone." Crovos said,

"DDDAAADDD!" Sona slammed her head into the table with whine of pure humiliation.

"Oh...sorry."

"Too much information brother." Sebra shivered. "But he is correct honey, we put up with it for your birthday and that is all." Sona started weeping at the table.

"Oh well. Darn the luck, can't blame the devil for tying." The weeping became sobs.

"Well, I think we should leave before our baby girl rips the water out of our blood." Crovos stood and quickly lead his wife from the room before she could say anything else. Sebra gave them all an apologetic look.

Tsubaki moved into to hug her King, pulling the girl into her bosom to let out all her stress, the rest of the Peerage did their best to both offer support and give their King privacy at the same time.

"Soooo who here really wants brain bleach to be a thing?" Ruruka asked.

Ichigo was the first to raise his hand, after all he had seen worse. His parents first time was still burned into his memory no matter how hard he tried to forget it. "I don't know it sounds kind of..." Every person there shushed Tomoe before she could finish that sentence.

"I...I want go back to bed." Saji said his expression haunted.

"Well, it could be worse," Tsubasa said, "What if they acted like lovers instead of siblings." Ichigo shivered, very, very glad that he had normal siblings and neither of them seemed anime enough to want...more.

1

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1

(Karakura Town, Earth)

Yuzu when about her morning dressing for school and posing in the mirror trying to look more cute in her outfit.

She nearly doubled over with a violent sneeze.

"Seriously Yuzu who are you posing for?" Karin murmured from her bed, she looked half asleep and only half dressed. "Can you at least wait until he gets back? Your posing is kind of annoying."

The girl's face flushed as she threw a shoe at her twin causing the girl to grunt in pain, there was a flash of distant pain in her own forehead, but both were more than used to filtering out the other sensations. "It's not like that."

"Sure its not." Karin replied glaring at her, rubbing her forehead before turning away to get dressed, murmuring under her breath. "Brocon."

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1

The shiver of death passed up his spine, though he did not know why. It had only been half an hour after they finished breakfast and Sona had recovered her wits. They were all standing in the main hall with all the guests who had come to watch the brawl. "Kurosaki." He turned to see Ajuka walking towards him and figured that was where the shiver had come from.

He mentaly flicked through the names and titles he was supposed to use to be polite, "Maou-sama" He nodded. The word Sama was not normally in his nature to use, but Sona had asked him to and that was that.

"Oh, don't give me that," He waved a hand, "I was just coming over to thank you."

Ichigo...blinked. "What?"

"After I got over my little breakdown I was able to look over the data of your fight and what I had of your energy before it broke the scanning device. That also gave me an excuse to go visit a fellow academic of the scientific arts. All in all I have made two breakthroughs in Evil Piece technology, three in Asupcix gear and was able to open a whole new field of study into Shinigami. All thanks to you." The man seemed genuinely happy.

"Well, you're welcome." He replied, shooting a confused look at Serafall who just shrugged.

"It has been too long since I have been reminded that science can be wondrous and I don't know it all." He turned to a large spherical divide carried by two men in lab coats. "This time I have proper gear for data gathering and a money back guarantee for the first ninety days." He shook his head. "And that man pretends to sell candy in his spare time."

Ichigo's ear twitched at those words. "Sell Candy?"

"Of all things yes, though I could not tell you where and I would not even if I could. All of the people in the know arrive in his basement, which is an alternate dimension." The Maou chuckled.

Ichigo kept his face very plain and nonchalant, but a few things made a lot more sense now. "Well, it's almost time for your match and I think that girl of yours wants to talk." With a generous shoulder clap the man walked away and after a moment Sona arrived, took him by the hand and lead him away from the others.

The noise of the crowd faded into the background as she found a space where they had privacy. "Ichigo." Sona turned to him and put her head on his chest gently, taking Ichigo's other hand. "I am so sorry this has happened, I never imagined this would be his response."

He opened his mouth to say something, some words about how it had been no big deal. He closed it and just put his arms around her. There was a slight tremble in her body. "This was so stupid, I should have told them we have school."

"You don't mean that." He sighed. "I am not going to lie to you and say this has not been a trying experience. But they are your parents and they love you, don't let that slip away."

"I know, you're right." Sona spoke the words into his shirt so they came out muffled.

"Sona I want to ask you something."

"Mmm?"

"Several people have made me aware of legitimate issues that make me a bad match for you." Her eyes shot up eyes suddenly boiling with anger. "Let me finish, please." He asked, not flinching from her gaze. The rage smoldered a bit and she nodded, her possessive grip on him growing more than a little tight. In fact if he had been mortal it would have been bone breaking.

"You have plans, you want to change this world. You are going to be the leader of a Noble House. You are going to be involved in struggles that I will not be able to help with. I will be a point of attack for your reputation, I have no training, skill or aptitude for real politics. And, above all, I know you know this. You are far too smart to not be aware of this before you decided to make the first move. So I want to know, why you thought I was worth it?"

The anger in her eyes has smoldered and mixed with other emotions. "Because you are the one I wanted to be with. You have every qualification that matters to me and I don't care what anyone else says is best for me, because I know that you are it." Her finger jabbed into his chest. "You, not some politically expedient choice, not even one that would have advantages. I am going to make my mark on this world, I am going to change how the next generation thinks. I want you, you want me, that is enough, not only is it enough, it is right. I am going to make a difference and I am starting with myself Ichigo Kurosaki." She pulled his head down. "I chose you because I thought there was a chance something could grow and I was right." The next words were a declaration to him and the universe, a challenge to any who would try to stop her. "I love you."

Attempts at words lost all meaning as she pulled him down into a kiss. There was a desperate strength and passion in the act that overwhelmed him. All practice, all techniques vanished. It became something much more primal, there lips melding, bodies touching. In that moment they were the only things real in the whole universe.

As they pulled away he looked down on her flushed face, breath heavy with exertion. Her purple eyes glowing with unrestrained power. Looking into them, feeling his very soul fall into those endless depths he spoken the words to seal his fate. "I love you too."

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1

Lord Corvos was feeling rather confused. His wife, sister and eldest daughter had been sharing some spell together. Watching something with magic he guessed from the old haze in their eyes. They had been smiling at one moment, had bated breath the next and they had all started crying. Now he was old enough to recognize tears of joy in their faces, but wished he knew what it was about. Still he could not let himself get distracted he had a fight to win.

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1

They just held each other like that for the moments they had. Sona's breathing had become easier and her grip less spine cracking. "After I beat your old man I am taking you out on a date." He said. "Any objections?" She shook her head. "Good."

"Kaichou." Sona started, her head whipping around, only to shiver in relief when she saw her Queen. The girl was smiling with an unabashed reserve he had never seen in her before. "Sorry to interrupt, but it is time."

The girl leaned her head against him one more time. "Win." She whispered and let go, taking a moment to smooth her face into that of the girl he had grown to love. She looked set, determined and ready. "It's time for me to make a point to my parents, so win." The voice was the sound of an order.

"Yes Kaichou." He replied.

Together, hand and hand, they walked out to meet her Father, it might have even been intimidating too as the rest of the peerage fell in behind them, but they had not counted on Serafall.

Just before Lord Corvos could react to seeing them like that the Maou jumped on both of them pulling them into a hug. "I'm so proud of you So-tan, way to go."

"Mmmmm!" They both replied, but before panic could set in at the lack of breath she released them.

Sona coughed her mask slipping as her cheeks flushed. Everyone was looking at them now, and it did not help when the Maou gave her sister a kiss on the forehead and then whisper something in her ear so quiet that even the enhanced heading of the former shinigami could not make it out. Whatever it was it turned her face to a rose crimson. But the outburst of words he expected never came. "Thank you." Was all Sona said.

"Well as much as I hate to interrupt," Corvos said with perfect insincerity, "We have a match." His grin was nothing short of euphoric. "And may the best man," he paused, "Or boy, win."

Letting go of Sona's hand he walked over to the man, standing beside him was a familiar face. "Grayfia-san." Ichigo said with a nod.

"Ichigo-sama."

"How is Rias and the group doing?"

"They left last night before we got word of the match, but they are in good health and spirits."

"Thank you, and can I assume you are taking your previous role for this match?"

"You may." With those simple words magic circles appeared under the them. "If you would please focus on allowing my power to affect you, that would be appreciated."

Right, Ajuka had said one of his mutation pieces made him highly resistant to magic. He did his best to focus and it must have worked because circles appeared under all present and they were gone.

1

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1

Sona found her's, her sister's and her mothers' peerages appearing in the same area of space. There was plenty of seating, the room having a skybox style with an open bar, finger foods and other such trivialities that faded into the background. She noted her sister's Queen move up to stand beside her sister and felt a passing sensation of envy at the amazing curves on that woman.

The feeling vanished quickly though as it was unbecoming. Plus it was based on an actual anime character. She gave the Queen a polite nod and received one in return. "Beli-chan!" Her sister hugged her Queen tightly. "So glad you could all make it." The rest of her peerage also looked shockingly close to characters from various anime.

Outside the apparent windows the scene of a vast open field was taking form. "Onee." She said knowing her tone would get her sister's attention.

Serafall's face shifted to one of concern, and she took a step away from her Queen as her power folded around them allowing them a moment of privacy. "So-tan," the Maou said, "I am so sorry about the honeymoon joke. Really, I am."

"No, no," she shook her head and took a breath, "It's your job as my older sister." The slightest smile touched her face. It was perhaps the furthest she would ever go to saying that in her own way she loved her sister's teasing. It was comforting, it was a natural part of her life.

"I want to ask you a question, a personal one and one you do not have to answer if you don't feel comfortable." Her sister nodded and did not even crack a joke. "When you became a Super Devil, in that moment was there something that helped you make a connection to that power?"

"So-tan." Her voice was so gentle. Outside of the space various formations of rock, vast lakes of water, trees surrounding from the ground into forests. Neither combatant had appeared yet. "When I was at that point, alone, standing against the last living creature who had stood beside the first Maou I thought I was going to die. I knew that Sirzechs would triumph in the end, with the only ones who could have challenged him, the other three companions of the Lucifer, dead at each other's hands, the old Leviathan could not match him. He knew that, and also knew that Sirzechs cared for me. He did not know or care what kind of caring it was, merely that it was a weakness."

Serafall shivered. "He needed me alive and when it became apparent that I was going to fight until the last drop of my blood rather than give up, he tried a different tact."

"He threatened you, you had not been born yet, but mother was clearly pregnant."

Her sister nodded. "Plus we all knew it was going to be a girl and that had spread around." Something dark touched her eyes. "When he threatened you, the one thing in the world that gave me hope for the future, my baby sister, my family, I just snapped. There were no nobel thoughts of the Devil race, no thoughts of the comrades I had gained or lost. There was no War, there was no victory. None of that existed inside me at that moment. All I was, existed for you, all my thoughts on the fact that even if it was over my dead body, you would have a future. I still remember the feeling, the rage fit to swallow the world, the insanity pushing at the bounds of my shredded mind, our mother's ring on my finger and the thought of you and what you would become." A small self deprecating smile touched her lips. "I'm almost jealous of how much easier it seemed for your friend."

Sona had no words, none would have been sufficient, none could have been. To think that someone like this woman before her had done so much. Had become a maou, had a position of power, a strong peerage and it had all started because of her love for a sister who had not even been born yet. A girl she could not have known, the word humbling lacked so much that it seemed meaningless to how she felt at that moment. She did the only thing she could have done embracing this woman that she called a sister.

Serafall hugged back. "I love you So-tan."

"I love you too Onee-chan."

"Ohh," the Maou shivered, "Call me that again, it makes me want you in the yuri-yuri way."

The joke did what it had been intended, the mood shattered under a weight of embarrassment, panic, the knowledge that while it was a joke it was also true. That train of thought did not need to be followed right now. "Thank you for everything."

With one last smile her sister gave her a pat on the head, and one on the rear which made her jump. "Time to focus So-tan, our boyfriend is up."

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1

The sensation of magic faded, his spiritual sense washed out of him even before his eyes opened, locking onto the only other soul in this place.

They had been set close and as each opened their eyes they saw their opponent across a field of wheat bending in the wake of a constant wind. Reaching out his hand, Zangetsu's sealed form began to take shape. At the same time Corvos took on the color of steel, his skin, his clothing, and even his eyes shifting from flesh to metal.

"Begin!" A voice said, Ichigo's body vanished only a trail of blue light indicating what had happened, to those watching he had vanished from where he was and when he was visible again his blade, clothing and body had changed. The transition from sealed to Shikai happening in the blink of an eye. Zangetsu came crashing down on Corvos smashing into his head. "Getsuga Tenshou!" He roared as his blade swung down.

The field and the fighter vanished from sight in flash of twisting blue energy. Even unable to see the Former Shinigami felt his weapon sink in only a few inches and stop. Blindly he pulled back using Blut Arterie, allowing him his greatest physical strength. He heard a grunt of pain and his blade was free, the light fading in time for him to see a punch coming his way. He moved to step aside, but was slower, much slower than he should have been. Above the fist was a small black orb that pulsed with power, and instantly Ichigo conjured a shield. It shattered on impact, but slowed the attack enough for him to finish stepping to the side. With the metallic side of the man open he brought Zangetsu around in a wide swing, only for the earth to erupt between them a wall of rough stone interposing itself between them. His Zanpakuto clove through it easily enough, but it's speed had been lowered enough for Crovos to interpose his meaty arm in front of the blow. The force of it caused him to slide back a few feet, but the blade itself hardly sank more than a centimeter into the skin. This time he used Flash Step to move back, but the distance he covered was absolutely pitiful. He had meant to grab some distance and found himself only twenty feet away. The orb's effect seem weaker here and he gained a second to look the man over.

There was a wound on him, a deep gash in his head, it was bleeding which meant at the very least Iron Skin did not mean Iron body. Molten metal dripped across the man, some of it going into the wound on his hand and side sealing it up like form for a moment he thought he saw a flash of green among the steel. But why were there more spots of molten metal then where he had hit?

Drawing his power again he sent a torrent of raw power that was his Getsuga Tenshou, Crovos rolled his metel eyes and held up his arms in front of his fact in a defensive posture fists and arms touching. Ichigo watched as the energy of Getsuga Tenshou slid over the man like water, not detonating or finding purchase in the spot he aimed at. It did do damage, but it was dispersed damage not on the same spot and much of the power was wasted.

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Sebra sat beside her wife and managed to keep her face calm, but when she spoke there was awe in her voice. "That's not steel."

Lady Saras tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"His Heavy Metal, it looks like steel and that is because he means it to, but that's Adamantite."

Her wife blinked. "That's new."

"Very, the last one of my family to do so was our founder."

A low chuckle emerged from the head of the Sitiri house. "Well, well, well, I think the dear has been keeping secrets from us."

"Indeed, but that is not the only impressive thing."

"Oh?"

"The boy managed to cut though it"

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The earth erupted, not under his feet, but Corvos', and he moved in time with it, gaining a speed that would have been impossible with that body alone. The feeling of weight returned to Ichigo's body and he did not dare switch the Blut Arterie to Vene, as the greater strength was needed to function in the increases gravity field. Sword and fist slammed against one another, one, twice, three times in rapid succession, each blow sending shockwaves out from them, cracking ground and twisting earth. And Ichigo felt the blows, and right now he did not know which one of them had the edge in pure brute strength. The difference in speed should have been vast, but that stupid orb. When they clashed again he let go of Zangetsu, the blade was sent spinning away and acted as a nice moment of distraction. With all his strength he fought against the weight on him by jumping full force, his foot lashing out and impacting the orb as he rose.

There was an odd sensation that ran up his leg and he could feel his body resist the magic, the Evil Piece inside him granting him a power he would not have possessed. The orb went flying as if it was a ball off into the forest where it impacted and tore through several trees.

"How the hell..." Corvos started to say even as his other fist came rocketing towards Ichigo's airborn body. But with the weight gone he kicked off the air itself, flipping over the fist letting the gold chains of Zangetsu wrapped around his arm getting ready to pull his blade back to him. His feet touched the ground and he surged back away from his opponent, even now there was another orb, two in fact, forming above the man's hands.

Ichigo twisted his body, jerking on the chain with all his might, the blade reversed its flight corse and came hurtling back like a rocket. The new Zangetsu had an interesting curve near the hilt, almost like a crude handguard, the end of which was a needle sharp point. The man glanced behind him as the point slammed into him, meeting his back with a shockwave and for a moment his skin held. Ichigo, making one last effort, hauled on the chains, his skin alight with blue lines, and it broke the skin and sank five inches into the man's back.

Those large hands came down on the chain like a mountain, but Ichigo gave a mental command, Zangetsu and the chain vanishing into a flare spiritual particles. Drawing in the Reiryoku he had so generously put in the air he fired two rapid shots of concentrated power with his Quincy abilities. The first one missed an orb and the other, impacting the second orb, caused a detonation, knocking Crovos flying. "How they hell did you shoot gravity?" The man asked, incredulous.

In response he fired half a dozen more bolts of power, but each missed; a few impacted his metal skin, but dissipated harmlessly. On the bright side the orb that exploded seemed to have dented the man's whole rib cage, though even now it was expanding back out.

"Oh, if you want it that bad." Corvos pointed and the orb shot at Ichigo like a bullet. Zangetsu reformed and he brought it down on the thing. The blade clashed with it for a moment until he powered through its force and deflected it away.

The rest of the man's chest expanded back into its original shape, he did not look particularly hurt or winded. "That's kind of annoying, the glory of using gravity is there are not many things that can deal with it directly." The man shrugged his massive shoulders. "But I guess it would not be fun if it worked against everyone." The earth began to rumble and Ichigo took to the skies a moment before a storm of spikes shot out from the ground where he was. Then, the following moment, they launched out of the ground like ballistic missiles forcing him to dodge, going further into the air. There was a loud shout as Corvos seemed to strain against the air as if lifting some incredible weight. Seconds later it seemed like the whole field they had been standing in erupted, hundreds of tons of stone and dirt blasted upwards and all of it flying towards him.

Vanishing, Ichigo used Flash Step to escape the area of impact only to find himself slowed suddenly, around him there were twenty four orbs in a box formation, four for each side, a trap. There was a howl of pure effort as all the dirt and rock thrown skyward condensed into a single mass. Corvos twisted his body, hands clenched together, and it hurtled towards him like a meteor. "Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo snarled, spinning in place, sending out his immense power in a wave. It washed over and through the orbs, detonating them, then crashed into the mass of earth and exploded. Ichigo was sent hurtling backwards and slammed into and through a tree before impacting water and knifing through it to slam into the muck at the bottom.

For a stunned moment he just lay there before his body responded. Pushing himself out of the mud he shot up through the water to the surface. He could sense Corvos closing in long with five large flares of Devil power. He took a moment to study himself, lower his heart rate. Master had told him to pretend his abilities were psychic. Through that method he would be able to use his abilities as a Quincy by himself. It also could change his on how to use them.

He focused his spiritual sense, no, he focused all of his supernatural senses, Devil, shinigami and Quincy. He did not draw in the power, he let his mind focus on the ambient energy that he had so generously put in the environment.

There he could feel the distortions moving through the air, each sense by itself not enough but in tandem...he closed his eyes and lifted a finger drawing power from himself. His hand moving in a blur he unleashed a storm of arrows. He was not Ishida, who could have taken down the attacks with fewer arrows than the number of attacks. With Ichigo, inexperienced as he was with Quincy power he had to make up for the lack of skill with brute force.

In the same manner as the flak guns of World War Two he used quantity, knowing where the attacks were coming from and where they would be, it was a simple matter of effort. His vast spiritual power hardly affected by what felt like a trivial amount of power. And while ninety percent of his attacks at each one missed, it only took one. There was a series of six detonations taking out chunks of trees where they exploded.

All in all he was feeling pretty good, that was until the earth in front of him seemed to run like liquid rising up in a title wave of rock and tree, on the crest grinning like a madman Corvos rode one of the larger trees like a surfboard as the world wave came crashing down.

After the quiet moment of awe, Ichigo did the only smart thing, he flew up and out of the way before the wave collapsed in an apocalyptic crash that shook the entirety of the rating space.

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"Wow, Dad's come a long way since I last fought him." Serafall mused.

A dozen yards to her right So-tan was very quiet, she looked calm and composed as she did most of the time, though her fingers were white from gripping her seat so hard. Close beside her, that one Pawn of hers was watching the view with what Serafall could only describe as satisfaction. Oh, he was trying to hide it, but she was the head diplomat for a reason, she clamped down on the annoyance that flared through her. The boy had it bad for her baby sister and she could not blame him for that.

"He currently is not holding back much." Beli-chan agreed.

"Ya and he is not using his normal style all these, wide attacks, the singularities, he is burning through his power at a rapid rate."

"So is the boy going by pure visuals."

Serafall glanced over to Akjua who was grinning like a loon and was writing notes along with four of his staff. "I don't think so or at least not in the same way."

She watched as her father took familiar stance, Ichigo was hurtling towards him blade ready and her dad was more than ready to meet him. "Here we go." She whispered.

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"Fist of Earth, First Form, Wall!" Those were the words he heard just before he could bring his blade down. Corvos thrust his palm forward into the descending sword, and this time the blade did not so much as scratch his skin. Reverberations ran though Zangetsu and through it to his arms, sending spikes of agony through them. "Second Form, Expand!" His left arm tucked into his side and the earth erupted shoving him forward. The fist flashed out and before Ichigo could react a single dark orb appeared. With only a heartbeat to react he shifted his Blut to the defencive Vene, as the blow slammed into his chest and drove the wind from his lungs. He was catapulted up and back, he just started to right himself when a barrage of rock and tones of dirt came crashing down from above driving him down into the earth, burying him.

Switching Blut back to the strength enhancing Arterie he roared and tore his way through it and out into the light tense and ready for a further onslaught. But none was forthcoming, his gaze found Crovos who was taking a moment to breathe hard, a hint of sweat like liquid steel coming down his face. Gingerly he felt his chest where the first had stuck and winced at the pain. Even now it was starting to fade, a gift from his hollow he knew, but that would take some time. But attacking him from range was useless with Getsuga Tenshou or Quincy Arrows...though his mid range attack seemed to have worked well.

Zagentsu's hilt fell from his hands as he twisted the chains around his right arm with a flick of his wrist. It was easy, natural, despite all logic the golden chains were doing what he wanted and not hindering him. Hefting them aloft he began to spin Zangetsu in the air via the chain, just as White had done the first time they had fought with the cloth of his old blade.

Crovos raised his arms, the single orb of gravity orbiting his head. The blade of Zangetsu began to glow, but he forced the power of the Moon Fang to remain trapped within the steel. A Zanpakuto was a creation of pure spiritual force, and that did not seem to mix with Devil energy. He brought the weapon around in a wide arc, the older Devil moving forward enough to avoid the blade while reaching out to grab the chain. Ichigo slammed his foot into the taut metal and the blade made a sharp curve inward. That seemed to catch his opponent off guard as he grabbed the gold chain just as Zagnetsu slammed into his back with a resounding gong. The man let go as the blade dug into his metal skin and Ichigo jerked and twisted, the gold chain shifting length and weight as it snapped back to him, he completed his spin with Zangetsu soaring thirty feet above him.

Covros exploded into movement, using the earth, propelling him forward in a shower of rock, while Ichigo simply repeated bringing Zangetsu down, the chain becoming the perfect length to slam into the man's upraised arms. He used Flash Step to appear behind his opponent, thirty feet back and out of range of effect for his orb. Before the man could fully turn he Flash Stepped again to his original position. The chain now wrapped around the opponent's waist, and with Blut Arterie flaring, his own muscles screaming, he hauled with all his might.

The older devil was thrown from his feet as Ichigo spun around and up howling to the sky as he brought the metal Devil down into the earth screaming. "Getsuga Tenshou!" The gold chain turned blue. The detonation was intense, but Ichigo hardly paused to watch it, he knew the effect it would have, or lack thereof, and went for a different tact. He bent his head, horn pointing towards Crovos and focused, red dangerous power spiraled into an orb. Hollow power was different than normal Spiritual Force, but he had no idea if it would do anything more. Still, the attempt was worth a shot and, well, he now knew for sure he could do Cero, so that was a win.

The moment he saw the shadow of the man move to stand up he let the attack go, a titanic beam the width of a car tore its way through the ground, slamming into the man and past him. Water was vaporized into steam. Trees vanished and when it collided with a mountain far in the back a goodly sized chunk of it just stopped existing. Ichigo peered through the glassed ground and steam, Corvos had been driven back about twenty feet, no more. His skin was now a tarnished green, molten metal ran like wax off his body. "Damn boy, that was excellent!" The call came in good spirits as the older Devil took a moment to straighten out his back with an audible squeal of metal.

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"Adamantite, neat." Sona heard her sister say.

It was just one more advantage on the side of her Dad, she could hardly believe what she had seen. Perhaps it was because she had grown up in peace, but there had never been a time in her memory she had seen him go all out. It really hit her then just how powerful he really was, and judging from her mother's expression she was not the only one surprised.

But all it did was make her angry. 'This should not be happening!' What she saw before her could not be right. Her father fighting because he thought her too stupid to make her own choice, trying to smash the pride that her boyfrind so clearly held.

Why was her words not enough, had her words, deeds and acts not been enough? She had her own Peerage, she ran a school, she was King, she was an heir and she worked herself harder than anyone to make sure she was ready and able to do that.

And what was worse was all that talk about being a Super Devil, having that power inside her and not being able to reach it. With that power she could put her foot down and they would have to listen, he would have no choice. There were a dozen ways she could have kept this situation from happening if she only stood on even ground with her parents.

But that power would not come to her, she wanted freedom like Rias, but it did not come, she wanted to protect those around her, but it did not come, she loved her sister with all her heart, but the power did not come. All those those noble things, those righteous things that could connect her to her power, why did they not work? What was the thing about her that could connect her to such a thing, was it the selfish desire for power, was it something darker? Would she even want the power if it made her draw on the parts of herself she wanted to suppress. The thoughts were twisting around her mind like razor blades and she could not make sense of anything.

What was it about her, what could do it? She closed her eyes, fighting with every ounce of mental fortitude she had to come up with something, anything to help. But there was nothing, she did not know herself enough, or did not want to know.

She, she, she ...something warm wrapped around her arms, strong from effort and practice. She opened her eyes to realise her Rook was hugging her. Arms wrapped around her neck, her head pulled back against her chest. She tilted her head back to look at Yura "It's ok Sona." She said calmly. The words must have shocked everyone, her peerage could be forgiven in thinking that her name might be Kaichou. "I don't know what your thinking and don't care. You don't get to make that expression of pain and not expect me to act." Her voice was direct, simple, honest. "Whatever it is, it's not true and if it is I'll punch it, 'till it's not." Sona shivered at the words. "You and I have a bond now, one greater than what we had before, feelings that are new and some old." The Rook smiled a little. "I can read you now, you know, much better than I ever have been able to, I know you better now. So I can say for absolute certainty...You, my Kaichou, are the most hardworking, amazing, kind, and determined woman I know. Your dream is to change everything for the Devils that will come after us." She laughed and it was a lovely sound. The screen still held steady on the two fighters, neither had moved yet.

Tsubaki chuckled at her side. "I could have told you that, but my, my, I did not know how strong being in a relationship was for us, that is fascinating."

Sona ran through the words her Rook...no Yura her...sister...fellow lover? She did not know what to call her right now, had said. They warmed her core, calmed her mind, eased her guilt, they were the perfect word for her, she knew that. "Change." She said aloud. "You said change." Tsubasa nodded. "Change." Her eyes widened. "That's it!" She was changed, she wanted to make things better for everyone, she wanted freedom, she wanted to keep them safe, she wanted to love who she loved and to do that it would require change. Change was what she had been preparing for her whole life, change herself, change the underworld, change the peerage system, change, change, and more change.

And it was just like that, just like flipping a switch, like doing a task on muscle memory, like breathing without thought. Power, so much power, it swelled in her core, it was like cold water bubbling up from the depths of the greatest ocean. It rose up, crashed into and swallowed her own insignificant power taking it into its greater whole.

It attempted to sugre out of her, but her mind reacted, her years of practice, drills, blood, sweat and tears that had forged her unparalleled ability to control her power precisely reacted. She grabbed onto the wave, riding it and it hurt, it hurt a lot. She directed it back around, her mind pushed to its limits as more power surged up. She felt a burning sensation on her abdomen, like hot fire for the briefest of moments then something else entered her. Her will was expanded ten fold and she lashed the new power to herself, forcing it under her control to direct and use as she pleased. All the techniques, the focus strategies, the equations, every method she had ever learned to control her Devil power was used. Pieces of it taken from each, as she forged a new method to balance the power with the control she wanted. The pain lashed at her again, but even more light seemed to fill her. Vaguely she thought she could make out an orange dome shrouding her. The light it brought made it even easier, the pain receded both from the light and her will, her abdomen burned like a fire as it put even more power into her will. Her ears popped her body spasmed on its own and in her mind she thought she heard a roar, something vast and old a voice like a thousand foghorns and it...it seemed happy, joyous even.

Her eyes snapped open and she took in a gasping breath. She was covered in a thin layer of water which fell away from her body. Tsubasa was still holding on to neck, Inoue-san's healing power banished the rest of the ache in her body.

Her sister was on the other side of it, looking frantic, panicked even. "I'm fine." She gasped, surprised at how much effort that had taken. The dome fell way and Tsubasa let go just in time before her Onee-sama swept her up into her arms. "So-tan!" The exasperation mixed with fear was palpable, her mothers were at her side then, both looking shocked. And why not, she could feel it as much as they did, her power had just outstripped her mothers', even her father's, she had taken a step truly past them. She had just joined a club with only three members and Rias could not control her power yet, that would be something she could rub her nose in, just a hint.

"Screen." She said.

The people parted, it seemed they were fighting once more, Ichigo keeping his distance using his sword as a flail and her father could not keep up. He was too slow and whenever he sent the orb away from his body Ichigo destroyed it. It if kept up it would be a slow, but inevitable end. But Corvos was smiling and it was a smile she knew well, but she could not fathom what more tricks her father might have up his sleeve. But right now that did not matter, she could only trust in her boyfriend and after that was done, she was going to put her foot down and that man she called father was going to listen come hell or most likely high water.

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Crovos was slowing, with three new cuts to add to what he had before, while Ichigo was almost recovered from his earlier damage. The range of Zangetsu allowed him to strike from any range and his speed allowed him to dodge the ranged earth attacks. His stamina powered by his vast spiritual power keeping him from tiring. The most dangerous part about his opponent was the fact that up close he was a monster.

All of this he was doing while limiting himself to his Shikai level of power, there was a joy in that, a feeling of accomplishment. He was getting better with every second of the fight, this flail style growing easier and more intuitive. The only thing that had him worried was the smile that had never left his opponent's face.

He readied Zangetsu for another for another attack, the blade humming through the air above his head. Crovos glanced up at it then back at him gave a two fingered salute and the earth swallowed him. He just sort of sank into the earth like it was water, instantly he was airborne going about a hundred feet above the ground just in case. One second passed, then two, then five, then thirty, was he recovering somehow?

That was when the earth started bucking, cracks appeared going in all directions from the spot where Crovos had vanished. That was when he felt it an enormous flare of Devil power, and the ground was torn in two directions leaving a rent in the earth that the lake began to pour into. Slowly he sensed Crovos rise up and what emerged from the water was Crovos, but he was pitch black, void black almost, a purple aura flickered dangerously around him. But when he smiled his teeth were the same steel grey they had been before. "Well boy, what do you think?" He rose up to Ichigo's height his arms outstretched. "I got the idea from our Maou Lucifer. We as a clan have been able to take metal into our skin, but no one has ever tried to absorb our power over gravity. Once I saw what the Maou did however, I knew there was a way. I'm kind of glad for a reason to use it, though I've only had a hundred years to work on it and no one I needed to fight with it." His hands raised one with palm out in front of him the other tucked at his side fist closed.

"Hope your ready boy, I've been wanting to show you the other forms I perfected, such as this one," he took a breath, "Fist of Stone, Form Four."

There was a sensation, the power around the man unleashed and in the space of a heartbeat Ichigo who had been fifty feet away found himself in front of the man. The sheer speed at which he had been attracted by the gravitational force exceeding his reflexes as he was pulled into range. "Diamond under Pressure!" The tucked arm shot forward, fingers extend like a spear right into his gut. Hierro, Blut Vene, rock toughness muscles, all of the ways of making him tougher and the attack still pierced his skin a good two inches and then he was rocketing back from the pure power behind the blow.

The air around Crovos seemed to haze and bend, then the man was moving. Moving far, far faster than before. "Fist of Stone, Form Three, Falling Stones!" It was the only thing he had time to hear as his opponent was above him, both bodies parallel, and half a dozen punches impacted his chest all at the same time, this time he did feel ribs crack and his trajectory was changed. "Fist of Stone, Form Five," The man was behind him, overcoming the speed of his body falling to the ground, and two fists shot up at the same hitting along his spine. "Mountain Crash"

The heartbeat before they impacted Ichigo manifested his shield and this time there was no crack. He was sent flying back up from where he had been hit, but when Crovos raised a hand and that haze appeared in the air, he was yanked back down. This time prepared his eyes adjusted a little. "Fist of Stone, Form Two, Expand!" Ichigo got his blade in front of him like a shield. He felt the vibration of the hit through the steel and in his whole upper body, but he fought through it, finding his feet.

This time he was able to truly react as he was pulled by gravity to his opponent. He struck first, keeping Crovos from using his Fist techniques. Slashing with Zangetsu in a flurry of blows which Corvos matched, matched and exceeded his stikes, the sheer mass behind the man's blows unbelievable. Ichigowas pushed back a few feet by a sudden shift in the gravity "Fist of Stone, Form Six, Tectonic Clash!" Two fists shot out from different angles, to block one was to leave oneself open to the other. However dodging them was not an option as he could just be pulled back at will.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Was his response, taking both hits on his body, feeling the pain shoot through and being sent flying. However he heard something different that he had not heard yet, a cry of pain from his opponent. Righting himself he looked, but saw no damage on the void Corvos seemed to be clothed in, but one of his arms was over his chest in an instinctive protective gesture.

His attack had hurt him, it had done damage, but what was different, the energy had not slid off him like before. Perhaps it was attracted to him by the gravity, but that did not make sense it was pure energy. Or was it...well, he was not metal anymore could that have been it? Was there metal that would disperse energy like that? He did not know, but it would not surprise him if that was the case. He raised his hand and unleashed a torrent of bolts aimed at the man, the Quincy arrows impacted with little explosions driving him back a step. Then the air hazed and he was back next to him, this time Corvos had pulled him in so close that Zangetsu's size worked against his wielder. Ichigo was impacted by the Falling Stones attack, blocking two with his blade's steel, dodging one, though it took all of his strength to move, and three others impacted him, two on his chest where he had been hit before, sending a wave of pain through him and as the air was crushed out of him more than a bit of blood was in that.

"Fist of Stone, Form Seven, Diamond though Rock!" What came down was an overhead knife hand attack that hit with the weight of a mountain. It must have done something to his fist too as Ichigo blocked it with Zangetsu's edge out and it did not seem to make a mark. Ichigo, however, was not doing so hot. His arms almost gave out, such was the blow. The earth under him cracked as he sank into it. The mass only increasing with the weight of gravity itself, all in all, he was outmatched the way he was.

"Cero." He snarled.

The red beam impacted Corvos and for once he was sent flying, the energy detonated in a sphere of destruction, fading to reveal Crovos. The man again did not look to have any wound, but he was shaking a little, his breath coming in short gasps. "How many of those can you fire?" The words were a joke and one meant to buy time. But that was fine, it was his turn for a turn for a transformation. 'You going to fight me on that?' He asked his Hollow.

'Nah.' Was his Hollow's reply.

That felt odd, but he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Looking up at his opponent he acknowledged to himself that right now he couldn't beat him in Shikai. And while that was a shame, it just showed how far he had to go. This fight had been amazing, he had let loose, he had been matched and outmatched, forced to adapt, to learn, to grow. But in the end this was not a fight he was willing to lose. The words he had spoken to Sona echoed in his head, I love you, he had told her and he meant it with all the responsibilities that implied.

He stared down the man above him and gripped Zangetsu with both hands. "Ready?" He asked aloud.

The reply from his Zanpakuto was an assent and an admonishment. **'I shall lend you any strength. If you trust in me. I will let no rain fall in this world. Trust in me You will never fighting alone.** '

"Thank you partner," he paused for a moment, "Both of you, let's take him down."

"Who are you talking too, I don't remember hitting your head." Corvos asked.

His response was perhaps the most elegant one in his whole repertoire of answers. "Bankai."

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 **I play vile cliffhanger in attack mod, this card cannot be countered, destroyed, or have any cards activated in response to.**

 **Well I hope you all enjoyed the first part of the battle, it will continue next time.**

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 **Comments** **of the Week**

 _ **SomethingAncient**_

 _ **If I had any criticism, it would be that Serafall's way of talking and dealing with Orihime in that bedroom scene seems a bit alien. Her language is formal, then casual, then formal again, etc. It was like she was switching between her professional and personal selves...**_

 _ **I'll put it this way: This felt like a conversation between Orihime and a more naughty version of Tatsuki. Serafall isn't Tatsuki, so this part was an odd read. Serafall was at times too familiar, and then too serious at others.**_

 **Kudos to you for noticing, what Serafall was doing was very much on purpose at least in that scene. I have problems sometimes with tone in my conversions but what you read was done for a reason.**

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 _ **Sjstaudt**_

 _ **The whole thing where somehow one or more of the powerful supernatural factions are unaware of each other is really dumb but your story is very good and well written otherwise. The fact Serafall didn't either recognize his powers or question him about them when she's in charge of foreign affairs seems pretty weird.**_

 **There is a reason why they are...not unaware but unable to find each other, some people on both sides know what is going on but neither wants to really force the matter. Serafall is one of the people in the know and she has his whole backstory, by which she gained a lot of intel including military and political structure.**

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 _ **Hollowichigo12**_

 _ **I really want to see Ichigo meeting his family and friends again. I look forward to everyone's reactions about his harem and that Koneko does not look old enough to date Ichigo. I want to see how Kisuke and a certain black cat react to Ichigo being able to flirt and tease other people now, wonder if they cry tears of joy of their 'apprentice' learning their ways and how fun it is to tease other people.**_

 **Is this before or after they tease him to hell and back for his harem? Lol.**

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 _ **Archleone**_

 _ **I have to wonder about this whole "kissing between girls who are pretending to be sisters doesn't count" thing in this chapter. I mean, I think it's kind of dishonest and disrespectful to real lesbian relationships. You even have a semi-lesbian quasi-relationship thing going with Akeno and Asia that's separate from their desires for Ichigo, and I doubt they'd say their their physical activities "don't count".**_

 **In the real world absolutely, hell just because I have a character say something in story does not make it true. At the very least He will be her first kiss with a boy lol. But anyway you are correct but do keep in mind these are all devils now.**

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 _ **Wounderous-Serendipty**_

 _ **A badass Rias and Sona? hell yes! I'm deeply fascinated by their potential story and how Ichigo will impact it. I love the idea of Rias being strong enough to not need a knight in shining armour, but Ichigo's there just in case. Same for Sona. A Rating game between would be fun (and not at all awkward, no sir-ee no)**_

 **What? of course not, why would a rating game be awkward at all? But yes I do like the idea of a badass Rias and Sona too I mean they are supposed to powerful already so why not give them the same treatment as our heros, look out world you thought you only had one shonen protagonist? Oh no no my friend you have several.**

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 _ **WindbornesWord**_

 _ **Interesting chapter, not as much action as I'd like but I'm happy you responded to me, although I'm noticing that you are very conspicuous with not touching on my comment on Rukia.**_

 **=)**

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 **Comment** **of the Week**

 _ **Vadi6776**_

 _ **Sona and Yura scene, was lovely, cute and even sexy, the feeling of protectiveness and even some posesiveness was a nice touch, he hugging them and Sona blushing,by the way the idea of getting close as equals its an actual great concept (something that always felt wrong in canon HSDXD about the harems its the disparity between the members, Rias for example can order most of the girls in Issei's harem, they are subordinates not mates, even if they are supposed to be friends, they are not equals.) Here you point that disparity and started taking steps to fix it, kudos for that.**_

 **Thank you**

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 **There were a lot of fun theories on what Sona's mother is doing and I will tell you one of them is right on the mark, as to which one well you will have to wait and see.**

 **Oh though I will mention, I had to look up the term NTR to figure out what people were talking about…..thank you internet….why must you be this way?  
**

 **Until next Chapter Fanboy out.**


	29. AN

AN

A big thank you to **Battlesny** for pointing out a plot hole in one of my earlier chapters, I made a mistake as I thought I remembered Inoue's parents dying or being killed. Not being deadbeat abusive assholes. So that has been changed, and thank you once again **Battlesny**.

Since this might get you all excited I am very sorry this is just and AN so I will answer a question or two real quick.

 **A lot of people have noticed that Sona's birth seems to be off and weird in the timeline, this is on purpose and will be explained in the story, whether it will be as cool in the real world as it was in my head well we will all have to see.**

 **Unkown Reader** mentioned " _Irony of irony if it was a girl peeking on guys you would have just blown it off. Oh wait that is exactly what you've done previously. Only if you violate a girl are you a pervert and bad."_

This Hypocrisy is absolutely correct and if Ichigo had been the one to catch Inoue he might not have felt betrayed but would have felt obligated to do the same as he did to Issei. However it was Serafall that caught her and she is a different cookie altogether (I honestly dont think she would have cared about what Issei did cause no one else except Koneko seemed to give two shits). This is not an excuse, it simply why it happened that way.

 **Fun Fact:** People in the comments at really good at guessing Aizen's motives, I guess that means I still suck at writing him: Sigh: at least I am haveing fun...and I guess there is not all that much one might want when they are stuck in a chair.

 **Waspy:** asked Is the Quincy method for spirit particle manipulation similar to DXD-Senjutsu?

Sort of, though they manipulate the opposite ends of the spectrum and as with all of the Dxd powers and Bleach abilities they cannot interact with each other save for direct effects like blasts and things like that unless your Ichigo Kurosaki who is cheating.

A couple asked a few questions about Super Devils, and no its not something that any devil can achieve even with the Ichigo Power up mark though that does do weird things to the devil in question. Such a trait comes though natural mutation of as with Sirzech, Rias and Serafall, or...something very special in a certain other case.

Lastly while I can't find the exact review that mentioned that things like the Old Satan faction should be freaking out. Don't worry they have noticed and things might change a bit because of it.

 **Also I wonder what Freid is doing I mean he is a human and he did get beaten so badly he might be out of action still, I wounder how he could screw over his hated enemies?... Eh probably not important.**


	30. Chapter 29

**Note to self, no AN's until I have a chapter ready got it.**

 **Anyway I someone mentioned that I had put a few plot relevant things in my AO3 side story and they were correct. So I do a quick bullet point on those things so those who don't want to read that will not have it,**

 **In the first one, while Ichigo and Serafall were fooling around Inoue happened upon them and watched. Only Serafall caught her and rather than do the normal thing and be mad. She encouraged it because of course she would.**

 **In the Second story Tsubasa got her mark while they were fooling around.**

 **I think that is everything, anyway thanks to Aroneden for his amazing work in making this chapter readable. A few reviews have said I have gotten better at grammar stuff but is mostly my beta Reader who is the cause of that.**

 **Enjoy the chapter.**

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The audience held themselves with baited breath, watching as the dark energy twisted around where Ichigo Kurosaki had been. The sky itself had darkened, the gale force wind generated by the raw power being unleashed buffed everything in sight. Floating like some sort of dark god, Lord Corvos Sitri seemed content to wait and see what had happened. The rating space itself shook and far above, in the sky, small cracks in the rating space began to form before quickly being sealed.

The power seemed to shrink inward, bolts of black lightning flashing out and rending pieces of earth into shards, a mere byproduct of the power being unleashed. To the Devils watching it oddly terrifying, they could not sense anything from it. It didn't even register as a threat and yet it clearly was so.

Akuja watched as his new expensive sensor burnt out as if the spiritual energy it was sensing simply shattered its insides. The Maou took a deep breath and felt thankful he had bought the two year warranty. "Did you get the data before it shorted out?" He asked one of his assistants without looking away from the screen.

"Yes sir."

He nodded. "Good."

The energy had shrunk to cover the former Shinigami's body before it stabilized around his form. The first thing that struck most was the second horn, now both sides of his head were sporting the oddly shaped white horn. Two streaks of black ran across his face, from the hairline and across his eyes flowing down his neck and joining a larger black spot that looked almost like a hole in the boy's chest.

Black sleeves ran from his upper arms to his shoulders, the shirt was open at the neck forming a V that ran to just below the black mark. A belt of gold chain ran around his waist, as the rest of his black Shihakusho jacket fell to his feet. Those same feet were covered in what looked like skin-tight dark wrappings that might have ran up all of his legs, but no one could tell. His yellow eyes glowed as he held up his arms to look at them, both covered in the same skin tight dark wrappings as his feet.

Across his back a new symbol was emblazoned, it was that odd cross that had been part of his Shikai, set into the Sitri family symbol and growing through both, red blood colored vines that joined together with the other two mixing in the Gremory Rose. The last thing to appear was a sword, a Daito with a blade as long as his arm, made of black steel with a gold core running from the hilt to just below the tip. It was slung diagonally across his back.

With a grasp of the hilt and an experimental swing the force blew away the dust that had been swirled up by the wind. Pointing his weapon at his opponent Ichigo Kurosaki smiled. "Come and get it." He taunted and the audience held their collective breaths again. Well, except Serafall, she just had a shit eating grin and a look of supreme confidence.

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Ichigo watched as Corvos shook his head. "All that fanfare for that? No full plate armor, no dragon form, no huge energy blasts?"

He did not raise to the bait, putting both hands on Zangetsu while keeping his breathing steady, his entire body alive with power, straining, just waiting to be used. "Ok, if thats it." Covos raised his hand and this time Ichigo could see what was happening as he was being pulled towards the man, but something odd was happening to the space between them as well. It was twisting and warping to a minor degree and those two things combined for a near, but not quite, instant transportation into range of his opponent's fist. "Fist of Stone, Form Two, Expand!"

That was when he moved, against the gravitational force this man produced he moved and he moved fast. The power of his Bankai, at its core, compressed all of his spiritual power into his body, a body now even better able to handle the strain of that ability. With a body stronger, faster and tougher than his old, he got the pleasure of seeing the attack go right through his after image. "Getsuga Tenshou." He whispered and brought his weapon down. The slash empowered by his Moon Fang came down across Lord Corvos' massive back. He noted that the man had instantly brought his arms up to protect his neck, so it was a good thing he had not aimed for it.

The dark power howled through the air, taking his opponent with it, and slammed into the ground and exploded in a chaotic shower of energy. He made to fire a few spirit bolts from his hands after his opponent when Zangetsu simply changed shape. In the space of a heartbeat he held a black bow with a white core running through the middle. The ends of the recurve curled into small versions of the horns that were on his head. The string looked to me made of pure gold. "Oh shit," He said, "Master is not going to be pleased."

With that thought, he drew back the string while Reiryoku took the shape of a glowing white arrow, an actual one. Though it was outlined in black power with little wisps rising off the bow like flames. When he loosed it the thing shot out faster than a bullet. It slammed into his opponent and… through him, impacting the earth beneath and exploding with the force of a bomb.

"Ok, that's cool, perhaps she will overlook the bow..." Space twisted and he was down on the ground...still holding his bow. "Fist of Stone, Form Seven, Dimond between plates!" A knife hand strike flashed out of the dust and he put Zangetsu between him and it. The bow bent, but did not break thus he was sent flying, reminding him that his opponent was still dangerous. He was yanked back as the dust cleared in time to see a flurry of punches come his way. 'Shift back,' He thought, 'Please.'

The weapon reacted, splitting and he found himself holding two blades. They were short weapons, hardly twenty five inches from hilt to tip. Each looked like the other's twin in shape, with small hilts just large enough for his hand to fit comfortably, each weapon curved near the ends. In one hand he held a weapon of pure white with a glowing gold core while his other hand he held a black weapon with a gold core.

With no more time than a heartbeat to take all that in he began to parry the attacks coming his way, thankful when his mind seemed to know the new length and weight of the weapons. He matched his attacker's strength, his hands moving in a blur as the near godlike speed his bankai granted served him well, even under the mighty gravitational pull hindering him.

With two mighty strikes he forced his attacker back. The white blade flared with pitch black flame like energy, the black one with pure red. "Getsuga," He said slashing the blades in an X. He started to say the next word, but his mouth seemed to get stuck on it and when he spoke, a new word he had not meant to say came out. "Jujisho!" Two thin lines of black and red met as they impacted the man's chest, the attack seemed small against the great bulk of his opponent, but the X shaped explosion that sent Ichigo flying for being right next to the darn thing when it hit was large enough to be a letter on the Hollywood Sign.

Recovering quickly, he came to a stop in the air watching his handiwork, the energy faded and he could see Corvos, the man was on one knee fist against the ground. "Damn kid," he breathed, "That hurt." Green light erupted from the older Devil's body, sending a powerful shockwave through the air. What followed was tons of rock launching from all over the battlefield towards the man. The bending space making them impossible to keep track of. In fact Ichigo had to dodge more than a few and even with his speed several beaned him in the back.

They bounced harmlessly off his Blut and Heirro, but still the sheer amount of projectiles, Crovos had both his hands outstretched, each with a small, thin disk of darkness covering above them. They seemed to be eating the darkness on his skin, pulling it away and into their voids, the rock, dirt and debris were being sucked in as well, huge pieces of earth eaten away by the darkness.

Ichigo attempted to move forward, but was almost swept off his feet by the twisting gravitational pulls. Perhaps he could force it but...he had a better idea. Zangetsu reformed into its base form on his command and, gripping the hilt in his left, he ran his right index finger along the edge, cutting it just a little. The small drop of blood rose into the air, stopping between his horns as power began to gather. The light was no longer the red of Cero, it was the same crimson darkness of Getsuga Tenshou that spiraled into an orb the size of his palm while, with another effort of will, he changed Zangetsu again, this time into the bow. Reaching out he took the coiled energy of the attack in between his horns and drew it out, the power shrinking into a small form as it took the shape of an arrow.

He sank to one knee and took aim, Corvos smiled at him. "That's not going to do much against this, any energy, any matter, all sucked in to a small space. Can you imagine how much force this is going to have when it detonates?" The smile turned vicious. "It is quite the boom!"

Ichigo let out a breath and began to draw the ambient Spirit Energy to him, forcing the little motes of blue light into his arrow. There were no more words that needed to be said, almost as one they unleashed their attacks.

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The two beings that were Zangetsu turned away from their view of the battle raging in the outer world. "Guess it's time old man?"

Zangetsu looked down at the much reduced ocean, the majority of what it represented currently in use. "Yes."

White made a sound of discontent. "Don't see why we need it. King already has enough trouble controlling us."

"Exactly," The older man replied, "The more you give, the harder he works."

"I guess that is true."

Both stepped off the building and in a burst of speed slammed into the water, rocketing to its depths, and it was now shallow enough that there was still a little light when they touched the bottom. Between them was a perfect crystalline sphere about half their size. As if sensing them it started glowing, an absolutely pure white light.

The hollow winced as its skin started to sizzle and loosed an angry growl, its body alighting in red power. The old man knelt beside the sphere and placed a hand upon its structure. He glowed blue and the light dimmed to a dull glow in its core. The pain ceased and White grumbled to himself as he knelt and together they lifted the orb up and, with a combined effort of power, rose upward towards the currently distant surface.

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Corvos had been smart about his effort, one of his attacks had been thrown in the way of the arrow, the other had been hurled away from them, but it curved to slam into Ichigo from the side.

The arrow and the disk collided first and there was a tearing scream as space was rent asunder. The sight sparked an idea in Ichigo's mind. Raising his right hand towards the colliding powers he manifested his shield. The new symbol that appeared to shield him was the same as the one on his back. But there was more to it, three interlocking rings, like a Venn Diagram, of gold runes so small they were unreadable was interposed just behind the shield.

With his other hand he gathered power from himself, the Hollow power relying on pure instinct, as most Hollow abilities tended to. With his fingers he clawed at the very fabric of reality, just as the Hollows who wished to pass to the human world did. Kumon it was called, the power to open a path between realms, what the Arrancar had called a Garganta.

With this power he opened a gate to the void that lay between the hollow world and anywhere else. At nearly the same moment the two clashing attacks before him did what he expected. Sight vanished as a world shattering explosion blotted out everything.

The second attack finished its arc and passed through the open Garganta, which snapped closed as Ichigo cut off his power from it and put that hand with the other on the shield and held on for dear life. The force sent him flying with no signs of stopping, the first layer of his shield holding for the brief moment when the blast was the strongest before shattering. The new second layer of gold runes held just barely interposing itself in front of the explosion even as he spun through the air, all sense of location lost.

The heartbeat the pressure on the shield abated he let it go while forcing his power out, gripping the air itself and slowly, painfully, coming to a stop.

Silence followed, a defending silence broken only by the bell foundry that seemed to have set up shop in his head. He had to blink back the vision of a world that was only one large crater before feeling the now familiar sensation of teleportation.

He landed on his feet, bow raised and drawn arrow knocked. It took him a moment to realize he was back where he started. He was on the lawn of the central courtyard and people were there. Vaguely he could hear noises that might have been speech, but could not make out any of them.

Across from him, looking worse of then himself by a few miles of being blown through the earth was Lord Corvos. He looked to be quite unconscious, though relatively whole. Even from this distance he could see the tell tale sign of broken bones and a mix of second and third degree burns over most of his body.

Deciding that the fight was over he let Zangetsu vanish into spirit particles, his new Bankai fading away in a quick flame-like flare of power. Even though he could not really hear he could speak. "Inoue." That word alone held all the communication she needed. Her power flashed out and enshrouded Lord Corvos.

That was about the time that the rest of his peerage reached him. They were speaking but nothing came through, until Sona once again proved herself the smartest. 'Is something wrong with your ears?'

'I think there busted.' He replied mentally.

'What about the rest of you.' Tsubasa followed suit.

'Good for the most part, my ribs are killing me though.'

'I cannot believe that man.' All of them flinched at the Wrath that transformed Sona's mental projection. 'And you too, what the hell were you thinking? That was not a fucking spar, that was a death match.' Had he ever heard her curse before?

'He is the one who escalated.'

'I am aware of that, that is why I'm just yelling at you and not anything more.' Ichigo shared a glance with Tsubasa, watching the Rook's face twitch in a small smile before smoothing away as if it had never been there.

'However this does not happen again.' He glanced down at her at the worry in her expression. One echoed to a much greater degree by her mother who was standing beside Inoue looking like the incarnation of wrathful love itself. It was being somewhat appeased by the reality bending power of Inoue Orihime twisting causality until it cried Uncle and said 'have it your way!'. The damage simply ceased existing, the bones did not reform because they had never broken. The skin did not scar because it had never burned. Notably she did not go the extra mile and restore his energy, guess she was mad too, to withhold healing like that.

Speaking of power. 'You've gotten stronger.' he said mentally.

'Yes,' She replied grimly, 'And I'm going to use that strength to make sure dear old Dad does not pull a stunt like this again.'

'Might want to bring Serafall with you, because I think he would beat you in a stand up fight.'

She shook her head. 'If he was able to surprise me with all that, yes. But now that I know his best tricks I can counter them.' Countering gravity? Well, that was the sort of thing that should be left up to better minds than him.

'Well that's a lot of doom and gloom,' Tomoe said, 'but I can't be the only one who thinks that fight was really cool right. I mean really, really cool.'

There was a vague murmur of ascent in the group chat, except from Saji, who was looking distracted and distraught, and Sona, who clearly thought this whole thing, had been pointless.

Ichigo blinked as Inoue stepped past the others, looking him over, her eyes flickering orange. Hmm, had they ever done that before? She placed her hands over his ears and they began to glow. Almost at once the bells stopped tolling, the pain vanishing. He let out a breath and relaxed while realizing just how close she was to him. The exhale seemed to make her flinch in surprise, but she didn't move, holding her hands on him until his full range of hearing returned and furthermore his ribs stopped hurting. After that his reservoir of spiritual power began to rise.

"Hmm," Tsubasa said right next to Inoue's ear, "Do you really need to have your hands on him?" The tone was purely made for teasing.

Orihime responded with a garbled choke, followed by a blush that lit her whole face. "Don't," Ichigo chided, "She's never been good with trading barbs."

The Rook gave him the 'you're an idiot' look, making him wonder what he missed. Or perhaps it was the fact that he had known Inoue longer which meant that she saw something that was not there. The girl before him was amazing, she was just as beautiful as anyone here and who she was on the inside was even better, even more radiant. He was proud to call her a friend, though sometimes he wondered what she considered him. A brother at first, to be sure. When they had first met a friend, but how many times had this girl followed him into danger, in Soul Society, the Shinigami Hell, she had stood beside him against Grimmjow, and now she has become a Devil and he could not shake the feeling he had been part of the reason for that decision.

If it had been any other girl he would have assumed a desire for something more. That thought was very pleasant indeed, but he shoved the images away, would she not have said something by now if that was the case? Inoue had never been shy about telling them all what she liked, with food, toys, teachers, homework. Would something like attraction be any different?

Things were so much easier when he was just a Shinigami, he had been more than content to not risk his comfortable friendship, now he was making assumptions. Seeing the Orihime who had always blushed at teasing of any sort, who could be jumpy yet more than willing to touch, to hug, to offer a shoulder. Would he have not noticed if something had been there? He kind of hoped he would have. They had known each other for years, and he could not have been that dense, right?

She removed her hands from his head and that made it easier to push away those odd thoughts, no doubt the result of his change of species. "Thanks Inoue," he popped his neck, "That feels so much better."

"You're welcome Kurosaki-kun."

Nodding he turned to face his King. "I am sorry Sona, and I will do my best to make sure this will not happen again."

She gave him a look. "I note you did not say it won't happen again."

Glancing away he put his hand on the back of his head. "A lot of people know what buttons to push with me."

The girl let out a long sigh. "I know, it's part of what makes you, you." She reached up, grabbed his collar and yanked him down into a quick but powerful kiss. "And Tomoe is right, what you did was very cool, let's just save it for our enemies, or at least opponents next time and not my parents."

"Yaa!" They all jumped at Levi-tan's voice. "Sona, fight, fight, fight!" She pumped her hand into the are several times. "You go girl!"

The angry confident Sona vanished and it was her turn to blush. "You too, Ichi-kun! That was a wonderful fight, Ajuka-kun was over the moon with the data he got and Sirzech-kun, well he was just happy like he always was, his wife on the other hand was sizing you up like she was not sure she could take you in a fight." There was a pause. "This is really high praise from the Ultimate Queen."

"What did you think?" He said.

"Ohhh," She shivered, "Implying you care what I think about it more than others, well played." He noted she was keeping a few steps between them, as she gazed with pure happiness at Sona and him. She caught his gaze and made a small motion with her hand. Nodding ever so slightly Ichigo reached down and took Sona's hand in his. The poor girl stiffened at the touch, but in the seconds that followed relaxed bit by bit.

Serafall smiled even brighter before she moved next to her sister and whispered, just loud enough for him to hear too "I'll take care of dad So-tan, you need a break and your lovely boy toy is going to take you out to a nice dinner. Focus on that and leave the rest to your big sis." Sona's mouth opened and closed a few times. "I am so proud of you and what you have done," the Maou wrapped her sister in a hug, "Perhaps next time we will do another double date." She let go and lifted into the air slightly so she could give him a peck on the cheek. "Now, how about you all get out of here and get something to eat, kitchens are going full blast, go have fun." She made a shooing motion and Tsubaki, along with Reya, took the hint and after a moment of hesitation Sona followed as well, pulling him along.

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Serafall put her hand on Inoue's shoulders as the girl watched her baby sister walk hand in hand with her crush. She had an odd expression, one worn by many who had recently transformed into a Devil. The very human feeling of 'I want that for myself' but, very soon, in perhaps a month or less, the perspective would change. Her instincts would start to see it less as 'I see him and I want him'. It would become 'I see what he is a part of, I see the relationship he has chosen for himself and I want to be part of that'. The key difference being the lack of true rivalry, sure there could be contention over his time or attention but, as a general rule when this happened, and it happened a lot, the group would naturally develop relationships beyond what they had at first. Perhaps among the group there was a girl or guy or whatever, depending on the dynamic who you liked and enjoyed being around. Sooner or later something might happen, and the image of a bunch of lines connecting to a single point would turn into a spider web within the self contained group.

Now this did not always mean sex, her Mothers and Father were not in that kind of relatiship...except apparently on Mom's anniversary, something she herself had not been aware of but honstly did not suprise her all that much.

However, for a group like the one building around her sister and her boyfriend, that was the kind of group where you tended to see...well, enough to give one interesting mental images.

"It's ok to feel selfish," She said gently, "You are already more open than most."

"No," Inoue shook her head, "I am more selfish than most, I would rather have some than not at all, or at least that was what I thought."

"From the human perspective he is the one being selfish."

"Flaws are fine," She looked down at her own hands, "I'm starting to think of things differently, it feels weird."

"Everyone who is reincarnated goes through the same thing, my Sister did tell you about what exactly the transformation would entail, did she not?"

"She did and made sure I understood, even now if I wanted too I could reverse it." The girl wiped away a tear. "But I won't and I will be glad when the change has passed, he looks so happy with all of us. Like he does not bear the weight of the world anymore, like he is more relaxed than he has ever been. I feel kind of awful that he could not have found that with us, like we did not see the pain he was in, or in my case was too much of a coward to just talk to him, to tell him."

Serafall gently ran her hand though the girls hair, just like she did with Sona. "Well, you are starting to change that, so, better late than never right?"

Inoue's grey eyes closed then opened. "Yes, I suppose that is true."

"Besides, you seem well on your way to making friends with the others."

"There is that," She let out a breath and blushed, "Sorry for complaining."

"Hey," Serafall said, "Compared to the people I have to listen to complain, this is so much more worth it and brings me so much more satisfaction."

"Why?" Inoue asked. "You hardly know me, why are you doing this?"

"I like to help people, I like you, it makes me feel good, it helps someone else feel better, it goes with my nature to make my group stronger, I like you, plus I always have a weakness for people who are willing to call me Levi-tan and mean it...oh and I like you."

"You said that three times."

"You are a likeable and nice person Inoue Orihime, the very way you use your reality warping powers tells us all that. You're just a hint naughty, you like my show and just by yourself, you are an amazing person."

"You can tell that all from one night?"

"It's my job to tell that about people in a five minute meeting with people who I know damn well would kill me if they had the chance to take my place. I got to spend six hours with you and ask you any questions I wanted, you are fine woman. Now get going." She gave the girl a gentle swat on the rear which drew a yelp. "You need to eat breakfast and find the closest seat you can to Ichigo, better hurry."

The girl fought down the blush and took a deep breath before facing her, though her hands were covering her backside just in case. "Thank you…." She hesitated looking uncertain.

"Whatever you want to say, say it. Even if I don't like it I am a diplomat on my off days."

"Thank you ...Nee-san." With those words the poor girl fled at Knight speed away from the Maou.

Serafall just stood there, frozen. "Did my heart just skip a beat?" She asked...it had. The Maou felt a laugh bubbling up in her belly and let it go without trying to stop it. Sure, the girl had understood it was the greatest way of saying thank you she could. Which in and of itself was impressive as one might be fooled by how she acted. But perhaps this was the start of another friendship, and one within the group she was part of. Man, the future looked wonderful, if you could just move past all the damn storm clouds in front of it.

On that sobering thought she turned to stalk over to her father, the man was just getting up and currently looked quite scared of the glare her mother was giving him, her other mother looked by amused and annoyed. "Sup dad?" She said, casually joining them.

"Nothing much little one, just about to get a new asshole torn in me, that's all."

"There is going to be more than one." Seras promised in a sickly sweet voice.

Around them their various Peerage members flinched. Serafall glanced up at her fellow Maou a short distance away and waved making a few hand signs, something they had picked up during the war. "Going away, be back soon, randevu." When in the context of this modern world meant: "Be right back, got to take care of something and I do remember what we need to discuss since we are all here." Lucifer's blood she saw her fellow Maou more often than her family, every meeting had a host of new problems to solve. It was all rather annoying that, given her age, she would be the last to retire from this position, something she did her best not to think about.

With her will alone she moved them from the spot in the courtyard to the hidden room with comfortable couches and alcohol. The best kind of place for conversations. "My thanks to below." Corvos said as he found himself on his feet. He felt drained, but other than that the child's healing power or causality break was quite the amazing asset. He took a step over to the bar, but his wife put a hand on him and shoved him hard enough that he fell into a seat on one of the couches.

Seras bought back three drinks from said bar, one for herself, one for Sebra, one for her Daughter, and notably nothing for her husband. They all took a seat, took a drink then set their best number two glares at the only man in the room. "Explain." Serafall said for all of them.

"Oh?" He put his hands behind his head and just a hint of smugness flickered through his gaze "Just helping to affirm our Daughter's future."

"By trying to kill her significant other?" Sebra asked. "We all know the limits of the rating game, you almost died in that little stunt."

"You were lucky Orihime-Chan was there." Serafall added.

"Well I did not think I would have to go that far, but the boy just refused to cooperate."

Seras sighed and sat back in her seat. "Explain, in detail please, what you wanted to accomplish."

"A lot of things, that is how you are supposed to do it." He shrugged. "I did want to see his strength, I did want to see if I could crush him, I did want to see how Sona would look at him if he was proven to be not quite as inevitable as he seems. However, once I got the first few exchanges with him I was pretty sure that he would be fine on the power account so the plan shifted. The weakness he brings to her as a partner is zero political influence and it is not like we could just give him any, especially considering he is reincarnated. So, I just needed him to go all out and defeat me with something bright and showy, however he just kept matching me blow for blow, whenever I upped the intensity he would just get clever. I knew he was holding back, but after a bit, when I realized I was going to lose by a war of attrition which while fine is not what I was going for, I decided to pull out the stops and show a few new tricks. Granted, when I did that there was no way I could throw the fight without it being obvious, but it did make him showcase that new and greater power."

Her father looked oh so pleased with himself. "So I just decided 'fuck it' and fought him like I would have fought any enemy of our house and he won. Anyone could have seen that I held nothing back and he won."

Sebra tilted her head looking at her brother. "That is all well and good, but only a select few saw it…." She trailed off at the gleam in his eye. "Oh, no..."

"The whole underworld saw it, in high definition." Corvos let out a sigh of one who has completed a great labor. "By his power alone he will command respect at the very least and by extension so will Sona for being his King. And while he will still be used as a point of attack, his proven power mill mitigate or even cancel such a ploy if he plays his cards right...or Little Sparrow plays his cards right for him.

Serafall's mind when into overdrive. For the most part he was right, though it did paint new targets on the backs of her Sister's Peerage, but only a few more than were already on it and none that would touch her while she was in Kuoh…at least not without knowing what that would mean. Her little example she had made of Lady Paimon saw to that.

"Plus, now my combat ranking has gone up after what I showed everyone, so that helps our family. The only issue is that I'm in the doghouse for a while, but it was worth it."

"Your going to show me how you did that." Sebra said simply.

"I am aware." He replied easily. "That was why I had not pulled it for as long as I could." The look on his face told them all he was feeling more than a little full of himself now that he had, for the moment, surpassed his little sister.

"Your reasoning is mostly sound." Seras said. "What annoys me is that you did not see fit to include telling me about your plans, that, Dear Husband, is something I cannot abide. There are things I could have added, strings I could have pulled."

"I know, however, it was important that you were innocent of this. Plus, you are all ready pulling strings with that Pawn of hers. Little Sparrow will figure this out in time and it will be better if she is only mad at one of us." He laughed. "Plus, this had the added benefit of acting as a catalyst of her new station as a Super Devil, not even I could have planned that."

"Oh, by the way." Serafall said. "Don't ever do anything like that to him again. I told So-tan I would tell you that and I am also telling you that for myself."

"I know, that was a one and done, though I will suggest that you should be seen in public claiming him as your own very soon. That will be even more effective and should put him beyond most of the normal targets he might acquire."

"I was planning on having him on my show in a few weeks, it would not be all that hard to do so." Her father was absolutely right in his assessment. There was a danger, but there was also a protection in being hers, and if he was shown to be with both herself and her sister, which many knew or suspected her more than sisterly feelings on the matter, would take to mean that he was someone who had taken them, rather than the other way around.

There was a loud sigh. "This is what I get for marrying brawn and brains, rather than just brawn." Seras downed the last of her drink. "Serafall dear, would you leave us for a bit, us three need to have a private discussion about trust."

"Got ya mom." She gave a two fingered salute and simply teleported away, on to the next thing she had to do.

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"Ha! Ha!" The sound of pure mirth echoed over the training area as the Kuisha Abaddon entered, the Queen had to pause for a moment looking upon the man that was her King, Sairaorg. As she caught sight of him her heart started beating faster. He was currently going through his daily regimen of pushups...at about ten times greater than the already increased gravity that he had been using for the past few months.

Sweat beaded his well-muscled back as she watched him slowly rise and go back down. It ran in little rivulets along the taunt and visible musculature that made up his whole body. It was the look of one who built for power. It glowed with his fighting spirit, a visible force that fluctuated in time with his joyous laughter.

Kuisha could not help herself from staring at her King. His black hair plastered across his face, the thunderstorm intensity of his violet eyes, the line of his powerful jaw, the build of his chest. If she did not stop herself she did not know how long she would just stare unabashedly at him.

So, with more than a little reluctance, she moved forward. "Kuisha, have you seen it!" His words were almost a bellow, such was the force he had to speak them with. The fact that his lungs had not collapsed was a testament to his power.

"If you mean did I see Lord Sitiri be defeated by a newbie Devil, yes. I even took the time to get all I could find on him, and let me tell you, everyone else is doing the same."

"Bah, let them worry, I have not been so happy since I inducted you into the Peerage." Her cheeks flushed and she tried not to read into that. She was sure she mostly knew the answer, but felt the need to ask anyway."And why are you so excited Sairaorg?"

"It's been awhile since I was called the Strongest of my Generation. Such titles can make a man grow slack, I have not been challenged in at least a year and I grow stagnant."

Only by his excruciating standards, she thought. They could all see how strong he was, and could measure his growth. But he never seemed to see it for what it was.

"Now, at last, I have a goal post, not of some all powerful Maou, but a man of my own kind."

"He is a reincarnated, so you likely have at least a few hundred years on him, my Lord."

"My own generation." He repeated."I will have to train five times, no, ten times as hard." His infectious grin bubbled with joy. "At last I have a rival."

She had heard this before. "Are you going to tell him that?"

"Why?"

It made her want to laugh, this man did not see rivals in quite the same way as most people. They were a goalpost to him, many of his former rivals were not aware they had ever been such.

"Well, do you want to hear what I know about him?"

"Well it would be rude to..." He lost his grip and slammed into the ground and it took a moment for him to push back up. "...Not listen." He finished. "Did you find out if he does any new or niche workouts?"

"No," Kuisha shook her head, "I found out normal things."

Her King just smiled and she knew he was teasing. "Ok, let's hear it."

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"It seems our enemies have found yet another piece."

"Two dragons, the Nemean Lion, two new Super Devils, and whatever this anomaly is." Another answered. "This is what happens when you move too slowly."

"I don't see how we had a choice in this matter, it has taken some time to build up to where we are now, and more still before we are fully ready." The one who said this made an amused sound. "From what I hear, however, it seems the Sitiri Heir and the anomaly will be spending the evening in one of the cities, quite distinct from most of their protection."

"Except for the only protection that matters." Another voice said. "That murdering, incestuous bitch is sure to be in the area."

"Hmm, true, that particular Title Stealer is quite powerful." The man let out a long sigh. "We will just have to keep an eye on this then. Perhaps we can speed up our plans a fraction, but even that is doubtful."

"We could set up something in the human world, the bitch is not, and cannot, be there all the time."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I have it on good authority they are going to have some problems there in the near future. The lethal kind that we do not even need to have a hand in."

"The best kind of problem." A third said.

"Still, will that boy change the problem?"

"Not unless he is the equal of a Maou, and from what we have seen, he is not."

"I should remind you," The third said, "That if this problem is what I think it is, it is the same problem that was defeated by a human in World War Two."

"You mean the one-in-a-generation anomaly that we can track through history? Worry not, even if it does not resolve itself we will gain valuable data. Also, we can put in a fail safe just in case."

There was assent at least in that. "I think the more important matter is the fact that two family lines have produced four of the six Super Devils. That is what we need to figure out how to deal with and I am open for ideas."

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"So that thing was called your Bankai?" Tsubasa asked. "Not a Sacred Gear thing."

Ichigo shook his head. "No, not as far as I can tell. I don't actually know what Zangetsu being a Sacred Gear does, and to be fair neither does he."

They were in his room as she watched him get dressed for his date. After last night there was a much greater lack of nervousness in such an act. "It makes me wonder if this mark you gave me could have similar properties to that Bankai."

"It would not surprise me in the slightest." He replied, slipping on his jacket.

"Speaking of marks, Sona has one now." The Rook listed that as if it was an afterthought.

"...Oh." Great, just great, he would have to leave that conversion until after the date.

"She got it when she awakened." The Rook shook her head. "I'm going to spend some time trying to get more power out of this," She pointed at her abdomen, "Got to try and catch up somehow."

With quick efficient motions Ichigo put on his tie. "That, I am sure of. The mark is part of me and my capability to grow is one of my defining characteristics. I know for a fact that it will grow, just not how."

She walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist, pressing her chest into his back and putting her chin on his shoulder. "Good."

Gently tilting his head so that he was leaning his on hers he closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. "Don't worry, I have not forgotten about you."

"I know, but with Akeno, Asia, and Rias you might have your hands full. Lucky me and Kaichou decided that we could go eat out too."

"Hmmm."

"Yes," she whispered in a seductively, "Those are good thoughts. Knowing Kaichou, probably not going to happen...yet."

"You are an evil woman Tsubasa Yura."

"So is Serafall." She added. "You seem to have a taste for evil women."

"Jerk." He mumbled.

"The term is bitch."

"I try not to use that word." He paused for a moment. "Well, there is one person, but to us it's more like hello when we insult each other."

"Oh? Is this mysterious other a woman?"

His mouth quirked. "The first one I know for sure I wanted something more from...but that chance is long past." Turning away from the mirror he kissed her on the lips. "Thank you for last night, it was amazing."

"For more than one of us." She let go and moved back to sit on the bed. "What makes you think that woman would not want you now?"

He opened his mouth to say that he knew her well enough, but...well, he knew his track record on noticing attraction. "It is most likely the case."

"What if it was not?"

Ichigo glanced at her. "Well, now I feel like scumbag."

"Why, was your first thought 'Hell yes.'?"

His non-answer was better than any affirmative he could have given. "I won't tell you that we will be ok with it, cause I don't know. But, so far, I have not had any violent disagreements with the current situation. It makes me wonder if its because of you."

"How so?"

"Well, three of us now are bonded to you beyond the normal. Last night I think that connection is what made us both feel so good, even when, for the most part, we had little idea of what we were doing. And in the case of Lady Seras, she has a brother and sister, who are not into each other that way, but accept the fact that the one they love, loves the other. So it's got me thinking that a part of it might be what you want, affects what we are willing to accept."

"Now I really feel like a scumbag."

"I said part of it." She chided. "Don't think for a moment that I'm some mind controlled bimbo or I will punch your balls through your mouth. Besides, it works both ways, I'm willing to bet you feel absolutely fine with me and Kaichou deciding to have a little fun with each other."

It was true...and embarrassing.

"While the idea of another man coming into this thing we all have is a no?" He shuddered, forcing himself not to speak. "It's not hyporcoital to feel emotions Ichigo, that same expression on your face tells me that we feel the same on this matter. I wonder what that means about us?"

"I hope that," He closed his eyes, "That means we are forming connections. That whatever this is will work. I want it to work, I want you all so much it scares me. The past few years, I was so busy, so full of life or death moments I literally had no time or energy for anything beyond protecting those I loved."

"Perhaps that is why it is so hard to notice for you, it's not that you are stupid, it's how you had to function and became habit."

Opening his eyes he looked the Rook up and down. "When did you get so good at analyzing me?"

"I have no idea, perhaps it's the mark, perhaps it is the months we have spent in close contact, or your honesty about yourself and who you are. I would guess all of the above but..." She shrugged. "It's not that hard, unless your really trying, we can all read you."

He would have to remember that. "What are you going to do while we are away?" He changed the subject as he had to leave very soon. "Workout a bit, do some hot yoga, put a bit of Ice on my butt and go brag to Serafall about last night."

"I think I should be afraid."

"You really should." the Rook agreed.

"And on that note, wish me luck?"

"Knock her dead!" She stuck her tongue out at him. "And try not throwing her into the ocean, that might fly with me, but not with Kaichou."

Tension slid out of him as he laughed. "Yes ma'am."

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Teleportation made things interesting. There was no need to ride in a car or have small talk on the way to a date. There was simply a meeting and a flash of magic and they were there, two teens appearing in front of a restaurant in the middle of a city and hardly anyone even blinked. Ichigo Kuorsaki took a breath and prayed he had chosen the best place, he felt he looked ok in his custom suit. A nice black color over pristine white, with solid black shoes that seemed to drink in the light that touched them. It was nothing compared to the girl at his side. Sona was wearing a dress of emerald green, strapless, like some of her other dresses. It had a lovely shine to it that contrasted well with her pale skin and dark hair. The hem line was above her modest chest, well within modesty, and the dress perfectly proportioned to her body for both comfort and looks. She had her arm around his and looked up, a little stunned at where they stood. "This, this, this is..." Her mouth moved a little. "How can you?"

"Serafall." He replied, the word more than enough. Speaking of the woman in question he could sense her power above them, it was well hidden from the Devil senses, but he could look for the spiritual. "She is watching us, by the way."

"I know that." Sona replied. "That's just how she is, though is she here or is she scrying?"

"Scrying, I think." With that he gently led her forward, they were met by a man in an impeccable outfit. Considering you had to book this in advance, though using Serafall's card skipped the ten month wait, and were supposed to send them your pictures and names so they could give you the best possible experience, this was expected. "Master Kurosaki, Mistress Sitri, this way please."

The building itself did not have a name on the front; it was a large, well made structure in a district with a hundred other such places. This area was where the truly wealthy of Devil kind went to enjoy themselves, and to be fair this place did not even really have a name. Customers from what Lady Seras had explained to him called it 'Experience' which described what the establishment wanted to give to those who came. You only got here by invitation, wealth, and power...or connections, really, really, really, high connections.

They were lead through a velvet hallway past several security personnel dressed as servers, valets and other such people. It opened out onto a vast room with tables completely packed, there was a literal host of beautiful people and for the first time since Ichigo had seen his first stray he noted a decent amount of non-human features. Horns, third eyes, different colors of skin, and a dozen other differences, men and women both, dressed anywhere from absolute modest to as little as one could get away with and still be fancy and in good taste.

He tightened his arm around Sona's as eyes turned to look at them, and, to his worry, many at him most of all. They looked at him like they had seen him before, Sona noticed it too and it must have felt weird being the one that no one seemed to recognize. "Is there something I don't know about?" He murmured.

"Not that I know of." She whispered back.

Their server led them to the only empty table, set a little out of the way of the others in one corner, and before he left he drew thin, nearly transparent, curtains around them. It left an odd feeling of isolation broken only by the soft jazz playing through the air and the odd shadow or two that moved near their table.

One full bottle of liquid and two crystal glasses awaited them, at which Sona raised one eyebrow. "The finest Sparkling Grape Juice." He assured her.

"Good choice." She replied before waving her hand over the table, her power checking for who knew what. He went over to her chair and pulled it out for her, the action making her eyes sparkle. Hopefully the other cheesy romantic things he had planned would get the same reaction. Sitting down after filling their glasses he let out a long breath. "I feel like I am justified in toasting to the end of a long, great day?"

"Hear hear!" She replied, raising her glass. It was quite good for sparkling grape juice, perfectly refreshing and sweet. "But I do like what is coming next." He leaned forward. "So, So-tan, how are you doing?"

"That's my Sister's pet name and if you use it I will drown you in your sleep."

"Fair enough."

Sona smiled. "Well, today has been...rather crazy." She held up her hand and power twisted around it, becoming water for a moment before vanishing. "The feeling of all this power, it's like nothing I have ever felt, and I guess this is what you and Onee feel all the time."

"You get used to it, it feels like you should be using that vast power for something at every moment, but that will just exhaust you. Rias might have had it worse than you, but she was used to that feeling, I think."

"Is she stronger than me?"

"By a moderate amount, if you go by raw power, but she does not have anywhere close to full control." He tilted his head. "But you already knew that."

"I like to verify my sources even if they are me." She relaxed a little. "A lot has changed in very little time." Her eyes shifted to her hand. "I had approximated the amount of time it would take me to gather what I thought to be the prerequisite personal power to at least several hundred years of hard work. Combined political and Peerage resources would take another hundred at least...or that was my timeline. But what I am now, that is power in more than one sense of the word; many will see me as a sort of pure-blood chosen. That won't last beyond the first second once they find out what I want, but with my purely personal power, my connections, hell Onee-san alone, not to mention my parents and the fact that I am an Heir." She was smiling now. "I, I, if I do things right, I might be able to really start on my school once I graduate." She took another sip. "If all the rest of you keep growing in power like you all seem to be doing, then it could be real, I can really change something for the better."

Oh, that felt good, to hear her so happy, to know that she was looking towards the future with such joy. Now, it might lower a little bit in time as the excitement faded, but even then Sona was not the kind of person to say such things frivolously.

"And you, you beat my Dad. I mean, I knew that people could defeat him, but my inner child always saw him as invincible. I honestly have trouble believing what I saw, what you did, and you, you also said, you love me." Her cheeks darkened. "Today has been very great indeed."

She was too far away to kiss which he supposed would have to wait. "I meant every word of it."

"I know you did, and I can't help but feel it means a great deal more coming from you. I sometimes still feel like a child or at least the teen I am. I don't think you ever feel like that do you?"

What had been the last time he thought of himself as a child? The only time that came to mind was...that day. A day best not to think about right now. "Truthfully I have been hesitating to use that word, probably for the same reason Levi-tan has avoided it."

"And what is that?"

"When we are totally, one hundred percent sure, when it feels right, when you know for a fact that it needs to be said and it should be said." He met her gaze. "You are the first person I have said that to, outside my family."

Sona shivered at the words, fighting back a purely victorious smile from crossing her face. "Wow."

He let that sit in comfortable silence as they shared more of the drink, it was not long until they were served their first course, a small amount, but there would be seven more so it did not need to be all that big. "Will the master and mistress be joining the dance after the meal?" The server asked.

"Of course." Ichigo replied with a nod.

"Excellent, do you have preferred song?" Ichigo listed one from the list of prep notes Serafall had given him.

"Well, someone has done their homework or have had it done for them." The look of happiness fighting to show on her face took the sting out of her sarcastic remark.

"When should you not take advantage of the enemy when their desires are already laid out?"

"Oh, I'm the enemy now am I?" If she had been Serafall this would have been the moment she reached out a foot under the table to tease him with. However this was Sona and somehow he doubted her dream date was anything but straight romance, something he was determined to deliver on.

"Do you even know how to dance?"

"I know we have had this question before." He replied. "And yes...I've also done a little practice with your sister this afternoon."

Sona lowered her head and her body shook with silent laughter. "I'm starting to wonder if I should thank you or Onee-san for this date."

"In all honesty, her."

The rest of the meal passed like that, conversion, small barbs with no real sting, laughter, small minor questions and more than a few longing looks. The food was excellent, even if he could not have named any of what had been served to him. When they had finished they were lead to a different room, a ballroom so fancy it would have made Disney himself jealous. Seven couples were already on the floor and he deferred to Sona's lead on the matter of when they were supposed to start. For her part Sona made small comments on the skills of those on the floor in the same manner he would have described a person's fighting ability.

For his part he was a little bold and put his arm around her waist while they waited, he could feel her relax under his touch and she leaned into him lightly. Now that they were out in the open, people were looking at him again. Some with speculation, others annoyance and some with more guarded thoughts he could not read.

But before he could really stare any of them down the music changed and with a tug on the arm Sona lead him to the dance floor, as he had practiced his hand grasped hers at shoulder level and the other around her waist. As the new song began both moved in perfect coordination, the world shrinking around them until they were the only ones in it. "So, I wonder what is your plan for me in all this?"

"Hmm, I have been thinking about that, I can't dominate all your time so...part time teacher of self defense and...Ethics, perhaps."

"You realize my ethics are not...healthy, or normal, right?"

She had to think about that for a moment as he twirled her about. "Self defense then, I will teach the ethics."

"That sounds like more students will be surviving."

"You're not that bad." They stepped in close, bodies touching.

"My ethics have me invade entire dimensions to get back those I love."

"Which you did twice." She agreed.

"Three times, I invaded the Shinigami version of Hell to get my baby sister back."

"Every time you say something like that you make me think that I am absolutely vindicated in my choice."

They spun around the floor as the music guided them along its perfect path. "That strokes my ego."

The girl smiled as they moved in close again. "Don't let it get too large or I'll have to pop it."

"You should do that anyway, if anything that is what I need once in a while." She laughed and threw herself into the music with abandon. Leaving him to keep hold of this fey, lovely thing in his grasp as song after song passed into the ether. At some point they became the only ones dancing, the others present simply watching. Many of them had found love within the groups that they had formed or had formed around them. It was perhaps another part of the Devil nature, Love would grow among them if given time and effort, but to see it at its most pure was something else.

More than a few felt twinges of envy, which bloomed and faded just as quickly, most however simply took note. By now they knew who those two were, the heir of the Sitri family, and the new Devil who had just been shown on live broadcast beating the girl's father in a direct fight. It was something to take note of, furthermore there were rumors already about the possible involvement of the Maou Serafall Leviathan and the Heir of the Gremory House. While that seemed highly suspect, such a position would be...powerful indeed.

But for the two dancing none of that mattered, and as the last song ended and they slowed to a stop, they received polite applause. With a grin on his face Ichigo lead Sona away from them, bidding adieu to this place where he had just spent enough money to pay off his Dad's mortgage for two months.

"Now for the fun part." He whispered and swept her up in his arms, drawing a muffled shriek as the world blurred and they stood on top of the building they had just been eating at. "What are you do..." She started to say before they were moving again. His Flash Step crossing an incredible distance in what seemed like a heartbeat. "...ing!" She finished in the moment between two Steps.

They came to a stop in an area almost absolutely silent, they stood on a fine wooden wharf overlooking the lake perfectly reflecting the moon light in the sky above. "I am carrying you." He answered, pulling her closer. "You're so light that you hardly slow me down, and lovely that I want you as close as possible." Her mouth snapped shut her eyes growing very wide at how close they were. "I've also been wanting to do this all night." He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. The poor girl had no chance against him with all the practice he had been getting, but he held back, reminding him himself romance was what she wanted. So there was no tongue, no pressure, just a long, gentle kiss.

When he pulled away, she was the one looking short of breath. "I also figured on a night like this, it might be fun to relax a little more." Still holding her he walked to the end of the dock where a single person waited for them. Tethered to the dock as a boat with no visible means of moving, it was effectively a loveseat that could be leaned back into a love bed. The boat itself looked new and polished and when he stepped onto it it hardly shifted, despite the movement of weight. He gently placed his girlfriend in the seat before taking his spot beside her.

Without a word the boatman slipped the moorings and in absolute silence they drifted on a straight courses across the glassy surface of the lake. He took her hand and leaned back to get comfortable, hoping that he had made a good choice with this.

The girl settled in against him, letting the cool breeze that slid across them play along her hair. "This is really cheesy you know."

"I was going to read poetry, but I decided that I liked you too much."

"Mhhh next time you should. If its only half as bad as my attempts at cooking, then it should be fine."

"I didn't know you cook? One of the things that Serfall liked about me was that I cooked for you."

"I cook very badly, I'm not really sure how I cook so badly, but it from what I have been told is near poison."

"Well, Serafall told me that your attempts were bad."

"Oh...ya she was the one who told me my cooking were poison."

"Well, at least we both know we have gone too far when your sister has to tell us to stop."

Sona nodded. "It is one of her many great features." With a long sigh she pressed a button and they were both on their backs looking at the moon. "This was a great idea by the way."

"Thank you, this one was mine."

"At least you put some effort into me."

"Hey, that hurts." He mimed a blow to his heart.

"Oh you'll be fine."

"Sona, you are a cruel woman."

Her hand tightened on his for a moment. "Will you kiss me again?" His first instinct was to pin her to the bed and do so, but that was Levi-tan's influence. So he turned to partially lean over her, taking a moment to stare into her wide violet eyes. Cupping her cheek in one hand he leaned forward for a kiss that only the moonlight saw...and a small floating ice eye, but that was unimportant.

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Orihime was not quite sure how this had come about, she had come by to hang out and play with her new friend. Then Tsubasa-san had shown up to join them, and there had been a discussion between the two that had her blushing from the roots of her head to the soles of her feet. As she got to hear word for word of what Kurosaki-kun had done last night.

Serafall had been impressed, saying something about how the Rook had 'used his weakness against him' and 'well done'. She had made the mistake of asking what that weakness was and now her mind was playing images of her over his lap. Something she could not fathom as fun and yet it made her feel all tingly.

Beyond that, however, she had noticed how the Rook had seemed to treat this like it was a test. How she had been watching Serafall closely for a reaction and almost seemed surprised when she was happy. It was at that moment Orihime realized something she shared with the Maou, they both felt good when they learned He was happy.

But that was not the part she did not understand, no, she was confused when they had moved from Levi-tan's bedroom to a hot tub. And beyond that why this one had a large TV screen currently playing Serafall's show on its second season. Lastly, of course, why was she the one people ganged up on?

"Are you sure you were fully human?" Inoue bit back a whimper as two sets of hands felt up her boobs.

"I know what you mean," the Rook said, "How in the hell are these real?"

That had been a comment she got a lot in her life, but if that was the way it going to be than she would fight back. The Rook let out a yip, while the Maou made a sound of appreciation as she used her hands to get a firm grip on their chests. She gave them her best threatening glare which came out more as a pleading pout.

"Ok, ok, the credits are over anyway." Serafall grinned as they all settled down next to each other, with Orihime in the middle.

The fact that their hips were touching was much less of a problem for the girl. "Oh, good job." Serafall said, one of her eyes was glowing with magic. "Way to go you two!"

"How is the date going?" Tsubasa asked.

"Looks to be going good, almost pure romance, he messed up a few times, but it worked out. I think they will be heading home soon." Her focus returned to the screen. "Enough time to watch at least an episode." The Maou let out a breath. "By the way, thank you both for coming and putting up with me. I know I can be handsy and excitable and overbearing, but it's nice to have friends."

Oh that made Inoue's heart hurt, she turned and hugged the girl as tight as she could. When Tatsuki talked like that hugs always made her feel better. "You're welcome," She paused for a moment, "Sis."

The Maou actually trembled for a second like someone about to cry, but that was gone in a heartbeat. "Aww, thank you sis-sis." When noone in the room got the joke she sighed. "That's a call back to his favorite show." She hugged back and Inoue felt something like heat pool in her core as their chests rubbed against one another. As they pulled away Tsubasa looked unsure, from the look of the girl hugs were not her thing. Inoue glanced at Serafall who nodded back with a wicked smile and they almost tackled the Rook to pull her in to a double hug. The poor Rook caught between two chests of far greater tonnage than her own could only make a squeaking sound of embarrassment.

"It," Serafall declared, echoing her boyfriend, "Has been a long, but good, day."

"I agree." Inoue said.

"Mmmmmmmmm!" The Rook added, before forcing her head up to gasp in some air.

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Saji hesitated before entering the room, his mind and gut were in turmoil over what he was thinking of doing. Besides, he could hear talking and that was as good of an excuse as any to wait.

"Are you sure that is the case dear?" He recognized Lord Corvos speaking.

"Brother," Sebra chided, "She checked me herself."

"Right, right, my bad. But at least this won't be a hundred-year pregnancy."

"We did what was necessary for that." Saras countered. "From what I have seen, this new bundle of joy is going to be absolutely healthy. Granted, this coming at a time when there is no Civil War, our house is not in open rebellion against itself and she is not poisoned."

"I know why you did it love, I was just teasing."

Saji had no idea what anyone was talking about and this did not seem like a good time so he turned. "How is our daughter?" The tone was so serious Saji stopped.

"As it has always been, no side effects, though I have not been able to get a full scan yet. I will be doing that tonight when she gets back."

"Good."

There was a moment of quiet. "You have a thought, don't you dear?"

Corvos was quiet for a moment. "Have you noticed the change in her power? How it feels, how it acts, the force behind it?"

"Yes, anyone who gets near her can tell that."

"I don't know, but for a moment I thought I was feeling ...it."

The room went dead quiet. "Why do you say that?"

"I was taken to its corpse, even dead it had power. Why do you think its blood was such a potent poison? You barely survived and what you did to save our daughter I still don't fully understand."

Seras let out a long sigh. "I will check her tonight." There was another moment of silence. "Oh dear...Saji-Kun."

Shit, he had been caught, he felt a little faint at how badly these people could punish him for spying. He pushed open the door all the way and stepped into the room, face down.

"It is very unkind to spy on others." Sebra said shaking her head.

"I-It was not on purpose...at first I mean I was coming to talk to you." He pointed at Seras. "And the door was open and I was going to leave, but you started talking about Kaichou."

"Peace." Saji's mouth clacked shut as Corvos raised a hand. "Given what I think you are here for, what you heard might not be an issue."

"Uh, you know about that?"

"My wife came to both of us first before she told you anything." Sebra answered.

"It is the foundation of trust." Seras replied, the words a mild barb at her husband. Who nodded looking chastened. "So Saji, is this about my offer?"

"Wait, can you please tell me if Kaichou is ok?"

Her mother paused her expression thoughtful. "I believe so, yes. I only check to be thorough. Now, what is your answer?

He looked away from her his heart pounding like a drum again. "After seeing what he did? What choice do I have?"

"You could remain in his shadow and accept that." Sebra repliedm looking amused.

"That, I cannot do." Anger was added to the mix, and pride, he still had some of that. "I accept."

Seras nodded. "As you wish then, I will speak to her tomorrow."

Once the words left his mouth he almost vomited such was the shock of nerves and worry. "You do not need to be part of the conversation." She added looking at his almost green face.

It would have been the proper thing, the right thing, for him to say it to Kaichou himself. But if he tried that… well, he knew himself well enough to know that at a single argument from her he would crumble. "Thank you."

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 **Comments of the Week**

 **Necotis**

 **The only real issue I have, is Issei. By giving his ENTIRE harem to Ichigo, you have all but eliminated his TRUE character! In addition to how powerful Ichigo is, you have made his innate strength (Ddraig) meaningless. He brings nothing to the table, he's nothing but comic relief at this point!**

 _ **Just give it more time, Issei is important and there are a few girls still to come in his future.**_

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 **Hollow Ichigo12**

 **I wonder how Ajuka will feel upon learning that Ichigo already knows who this candy shop owner is and his relationship to him. Ajuka did make it sound like knowing Kisuke meant you were a member of an exclusive club and that makes me wonder how Ajuka would react to seeing Ichigo and Kisuke being all chummy with each other; when they are not trying to kill each other for training or some stupid reason. I can just picture Ajuka teleporting to Kisuke's 'basement' with Ichigo and maybe some other people and introduce them to each other, only for them to either play along to mess with Ajuka or for one of them to say something that shakes Ajuka and makes him lose his cool. On another side note it will be interesting to see if any of Ajuka's new equipment will survive Ichigo going Bankai and the power he will be flying around everywhere.**

 _ **Lol I know, "Excuse me, are you a scientist?" …. Ichigo hurts himself in his confusion starting at the Maou.**_

" _ **No I just hang out in this basement."**_

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 **Comment of the Week**

 **how did Inoue's deadbeat, still alive, parents that she and her brother ran away from leave them money?**

 _ **This was a case of me remembering things wrong and I thank you sir for the catch, some things I have changed on purpose like Sona's birth, or a bit of the bleach lore. And hell the making them exist in the same world of dxd is a stretch. But anyway Thank you again for making my story better**_


	31. Chapter 30

**Once again thanks to Aroneden for going over this chapter**

 **This one is only about half as long as my normal chapters and the next few are going to be about the same length. This is because due to how the plot is working I get to good stopping points sooner.**

 **Anyway hope you all enjoy.**

 **Also I don't know if I answered this out of story but I decided to run the Bleach Hell movie as if it is a place made for the souls that Soul Society works with and is separate from the Underworld.**

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He waited in silence as the limo service Serafall had hired brought them back to the house. The driver was someone he assumed was part of Serafall's Peerage, he did not see any other reason a woman who looked like Suzuha Amane from Steins;Gate would be driving their limo. Perhaps it was a bad thing that he just assumed that Serafall's Peerage consisted of Anime cosplayers, but you know…it was the sort of thing she would do.

Anyway, that was not the reason for the quiet; Sona had put up a spell so they could speak in private the moment they sat down. No, he was simply waiting for her response; he had done the right thing. Their date was mostly over and she needed to know what had happened to her and so like with all the others he laid out all his cards on the table. What the mark was, what it did for both of them, and apologized for the placement as he had no control over that, and then wait for her reaction.

On the bright side she had not seemed angry so much as concerned, thus was why his back was facing her as she pulled up her dress to look at her abdomen. There was a subtle shift of light he could see as the mark must have activated.

"I would have preferred you told me about that." She said after straightening her clothing. "I… don't really mind it, but you said this could happen to anyone who spends a lot of time around you?"

He nodded. "Issei would have one by now and Saji might, but both have Sacred Gears that can absorb my power, so that might not happen. Kiba and all the others might be close, but I think it takes a catalyst to activate."

Sona had her hand over where the mark was. "Do you think Inoue-san could get rid of it?"

Ichigo pondered that for a few moments. "Probably, is that what you want to do?"

"No," She said after a moment, "For one, I do not mind sharing this with you and two, at least at the moment this is letting me stay at my current level of control over my power. Once I master it fully I wonder what it will do then?" She smiled, shaking her head. "I was asking in case the others might now want it." She glanced at him sternly. "You do need to tell them and soon so they can make informed decisions."

Ichigo nodded, chastened, he should have thought to do that. "We, on the other hand, are going to have to explore just what this does. Rias had multiple changes if I understand it correctly, where as I only have one right now." Sona pursed her lips. "We should check Yura's Evil Piece I wonder if this mark has changed it?"

"What about yours?"

Sona held out her hand and a King Piece appeared it looked normal for a moment until there was a flare of blue lines like that of his Blut, Sona frowned and flipped it over to look at the bottom where his symbol glowed. The same symbol on his bankai, she closed her fist and the piece vanished. "Interesting, I don't think I have even heard of a Mutated King before."

"Fun," he replied, "I got magic resistance and the ability to share Rook traits from my Mutation Pieces, so I wonder what that does?"

"It's going to give Lord Akuja a heart attack." Sona mumbled as the car slid to a stop, Ichigo got out of the car and used Flash Step to appear in front of her door so he could open it for her. That got an amused sparkle back in her eye. "Why, thank you Ichigo-san."

He reached out a hand and helped her out. "You're very welcome, my lady."

Ichigo could see her resist the urge to burst out laughing as she took his hand, it made him decide to take things one step further and sweep her into his arms once more and simply carry her the rest of the way. He heard the driver snicker at the sight before starting to drive away, but he didn't care. Sona looked caught between excitement and embarrassment, doing her best glasses flashing glare, but it was somewhat defeated by the blush adorning her face.

Before they reached the large doors to the compound he set her down, deciding not to push things too far, doubting that Sona would appreciate whoever was waiting for them seeing her being carried like some sort of delicate flower. "Not funny." She mumbled.

"I thought it was."

She punched him in the arm lighty before putting her hand on the door, the massive beasts that were the front doors drew back and they stepped inside to find a lone figure awaiting them. "Mom." Sona nodded.

Lady Seras smiled at both of them. "Did you enjoy yourselves, children?"

"Very much so Miss, your Daughter is an amazing date."

"Oh good, good, I am glad but don't call me miss." She glanced at Sona who just smiled a little squeezed his hand. "But, I am afraid I am going to have to steal my daughter away for a bit. We have a few issues that need to be discussed."

"Is something wrong?"

"Depends on how one looks at things my dear, but it is not deadly or dangerous."

"Hmm." Before she could pull away he leaned over and kissed her right in front of her mom. When he pulled back she was giving him a real death glare while her mother put her hand over her mouth to hide a grin. "See you later, Kaichou." He let go of her hand and walked away vanishing as the house magic engulfed him and hustled him to his intended destination.

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Sona growled at his vanishing form. Damn him, this was only going to make her mother tease her about her kissing skills and she really did not need that right now. "You can go get changed darling, I need to give you your checkup, I'm willing to bet you have not gotten one since you left here."

The childish part of her wanted to say that she did not need to do that, she lived outside the house, she ran a school, she was more of an adult than many her age… but her mother was right and a doctor's visit was not only important, but recommended for health. She herself made sure her Peerage had regular checkups and dentist appointments. But for the Sitri Family it was much safer to keep such things in-house as possible. And her Mother was known for her talent at biological magic, it was how Serafall was able to be conceived, and how she herself had been able to survive her time in the womb. And, if anything, the hobby her mother had before she had gotten married had become something she now actively worked on. In the same manner her father trained in combat, her mother did that and studied medicine, bodies, internal systems, external systems. She had even heard her Sister talk about getting her mother the Old Maou Beelzebub's notes. Or at least the ones that were not so classified that only Akuja had access or apparently the decent amount the four Maou had outright destroyed.

So it had come to pass that Lady Seras was the go to for any medical issue or...biological spell such as temporary mutations. She even kept reasonable prices when she had the time to just accept requests. "Yes mother."

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Ichigo slowed as he entered a part of compound reserved for guests. He sent a mental message to Nel through the familiar bond giving the girl time to say her goodbyes to her babysitter before summoning her to his arms.

"How was your date Itsygo?"

"Good." He replied, absently rubbing his hand over her skull mask. "How was your time with Mori-san?"

"Good." She snuggled up next to him and yawned. "Are we going to bed Itsygo?"

"That's the plan." Though it meant another week of lessons with Aizen for him. With a possible intermission by dreams of a boy from the ancient past.

"Nel likes that, Nel very tired."

"So am I Nel, so am I."

His reached out with his spiritual sense letting it glide over the people connected to him, He paused for a moment sensing Serafall, Tsubasa, and Inoue in the same room but that was not really his business. Saji was in his room and his soul seemed to be in flux, Tomoe, Momo, Ruruka were all huddled in the same room near the other trio, while Tsubaki was in the central Courtyard. Guess he was the only one of the Devils tired, but then again he had to fight a decent opponent that morning.

The door to his room opened to reveal a completely clean floor, a bed you could bounce a quarter off of and a smell of air freshener and disinfectant. He yawned. "Right, bath...you know I don't feel like making the trip, Nel how do you feel about a shower?"

"Sounds good." She mumbled.

He was stuck by a sudden memory of being in charge of bathing one of the twins when he had just been about eight. Looking back, he could now see that it had been a test to see if he was ready to help with the toddlers. Hell, his mother had probably been watching him the whole time. "Alright let's get that done then we can get some shut eye."

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"What is it mother?" Sona asked.

Seras started, perhaps realizing that she had been quiet for quite a long time. "Have you been experiencing any negative effects from anything, pain, nausea, the murderous desire to kill Thor?"

For a moment Sona has been mortified that her mother might be suggesting she was pregnant but that last one…"What?"

"Ok, that is a no, which is good, I think."

"Sorry dear, I'm just having some fun with you. Tell me, have you kept your promise about your blood?"

"Yeess.." Sona frowned. "I have never given it to anyone save you, though I have done some of my own tests."

"Good for you, what did you find?"

"The same as what you showed me, my blood had the foreign cells that, while I am immune to them, might be dangerous for others. The poison you still have not told me the source of."

Seras shrugged. "It was an attempt to kill me and you while you were in the womb. It required immense effort on my part, my wife's and your father's to make sure both of us survived the year. For now, that is all I will tell you, but you are fine and my heart is set at ease. I really wish you would have visited in the past year, it would have been fun."

Sona flushed a little "Sorry, I just...I just..."

"Kept putting it off?" Her mother asked, her eyes sparkled for a moment. "I put off marrying your Father because I liked being having Venelana as a lover. Believe me dear, it runs in the family."

The girl shoved her head in a pillow and screamed. "You know you really should try and get to know Rias-chan better, you two are already best friends why not experiment a little" She tilted her head as Sona threw the pillow at her "Ok, ok, I'll stop." Sona glared at her as hard as she could, not the least of which because if Ichigo and Rias did click like she thought they would...such a scenario could become more likely if only because Rias liked to mess with her head...not that she was not guilty of the same behavior.

"You are distracting me." She declared, forcing the blush off of her face.

"Kind of." Seras agreed. "You are doing fine daughter, better than fine. We might be the first house to have a Devil such as yourself as its leader. Unless they find some way to stick you with the title and job of Maou."

"I would just refuse, I am the only child that can be an heir to this house." Something flickered across her mother's face and Sona locked in on that. "Or, am I?"

Her mother laughed. "You caught me, Sebra is pregnant again."

It was quite unlike Sona for a grin to split her face as she lunged at her mother and hugged her. "That's wonderful! I, I, I'm going to be a big sister for once. When is it happening?"

"Relax, not for another nine months, I just confirmed last night that we had succeeded." Sona did not picture how her mother had accomplished impregnating her wife it was just not something she needed in her head. Lucifer's blood, she was grateful that she would never be privy to a memory like that.

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Ichigo sneezed in the shower sending water everywhere and making Nel giggle as he tried to finish cleaning her. For some reason the memory of his parents first time had flared up and if it was not for the hot water his face would have been very pale at the moment. "Damn you Aizen."

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The guard looked back at the bound monster of Soul Society. "Did he just sneeze?"

His partner asked. "Can he do that?"

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"Have you told Onee-san yet?"

"Sebra is going to do that herself, I dare say Serafall is going to be just as excited. Perhaps we will get a little boy this time, wouldn't that be fun."

Sona felt warm all over, more family, more people to love and cherish, a time to be grateful that this was the family she was born into. In some of the Seventy Two Pillars this would have been a time for people to fortify their positions as much as possible. For current Heir's to consider unthinkable options to secure their place. Sona, however, knew better. Not in this family, this one built on love and affection. Serafall had willingly given up her place as heir and while she did not think it would come to that for her, it at least was an option.

"Don't tell anyone, we kind of want to keep this secret for as long as possible." Given the tribulations before her own birth, that was understandable.

"I know mom." She let go and took a step back. "Now if there is nothing else I need to go make sure my Big Sister is not molesting half my peerage at this moment."

"Darling," Seras chided, "She would never do anything to someone who said no." Sona shook her head and turned. "Wait," Her mother let out a long sigh. "There is something else we need to talk about, something a bit more serious."

Sona sat down almost on reflex, the tone of her mother's voice. "You have an issue with a member of your peerage. One that, from what I can tell, you have been avoiding." The mood changed in an instant Sona looking away her mouth closing her arms crossing. "Sona," She said gently, "I am here to help, both you and the boy."

That was yet another clue, but it was not like she really needed one, the immature part of her wanted to say that she had it under control. But... "You mean how Saji-san's feeling for me."

"Yes," Her mother leaned back, "You have been ignoring them?"

Again she hesitated, it felt so hard to say what was the truth, so childish because she knew what she was going to say was wrong. "I had hoped that my position on that was clear, and when I entered a relationship even more so. He had persurers of his own, if he had the wit to notice them."

"You mean the ones who now talk about the Welsh Dragon? Child, I think you have been spoiled by Kuorsaki-kun. Saji was aware of them, he just did not want anything like that with them." _Exactly like you with him_ , she did not say.

"It was something he was willing to let lie in hopes you would notice, but the fact that he gained a rival incited him. One, I might add, came in and swept not only you, but all the others. He really had two choices in his mind, lie down and take it, or do something and he chose to do something. I find that a testament to your ability to pick the best. As far as I can tell it has awakened a drive in him to do better and be better."

"Are you saying this is the time to tell him directly that I am not and will never be interested in a romantic relationship with him?"

"No, had you done it early enough it would have been fine. Now, however, it just might break him. And you don't want that because you love him, he is part of your family. I don't want to see that because it would hurt you, I like the boy, and his Sacred Gear is an asset to our family."

Sona leaned back her eyes closed, early enough? She had not known what to do, she was a teenager, love was this ephemeral, untouchable thing that she had not known what to do until it had crashed into her like a car. She now knew what love was or at least what she felt love was, no sense in being arrogant about that, they were still young. "I can infer that if I leave things as they are...it will not be pleasant?"

"There are any number of things that can happen, some more extreme and unlikely than others. I, for one, think the most likely event is that he will ask to leave or be traded." Her heart lurched at the words, pain shooting through her core like an ice pick in her belly. For a moment she lost the ability to speak, the idea that he would just leave his family, break away from the group so thoroughly. Sure she knew trades happened, but some groups were not as strong and interconnected as others.

"Calm," Her mother whispered. Sona had not realised she had moved but the woman was behind her and had her arms around her. "I am here to help, that is why we are having this conversation." Breath, breath slowly, breath easily. "I have spoken to him at length about what he wants for now and for his future. I propose that you lend him to me." Sona felt revulsion at the very concept. It quickly flared up into anger only barely assuaged by the fact that this was her mother. One whom she had an even stronger bond.

"I assume there is more?" She could not keep all the venom out of her voice, but her mother nodded. "He asked for perhaps six months to a years time. Time in which he can train, spend some time with you out of sight and out of mind. I should note that he made it clear he would not leave you permanently, no matter what came of all this." And just like that the venom faded, the hurt, while still there, became less. He was not leaving forever, she had not messed up that bad.

"To what end?"

"I cannot tell you that about him, but as for me, I plan on helping him become the best he can be and perhaps understand himself a little better. Mayhaps distract him a little from his woes." Sona could not pinpoint why but the slightest chill touched her spine.

"However before that I would suggest seeing if you have reduced his price, he would be worth two to me and perhaps only one to you given your new status."

That made sense, you could do that with pawns or pieces you had to stack in order to reincarnate someone. "When would you want this to happen?"

"Oh," her mother blinked, "Right now this is a trade only in name, you do not have to transfer the Pieces, no ceremony and when he comes back he will slip right back in. I was suggesting you take the pieces he does not need so you can add more to your peerage should the chance arise

Sona looked down at her hands, they wear still balled into fists, despite her efforts. The analytical part of her brain noted that this would make for a good lesson to tell her future students. She had made the mistake of treating Saji like a teen her age, she had ignored the issues that could arise, because it had been easier. Now she was looking at the consequences of not acting like the King she was, not making her position clear once she had realized it herself.

"I… will trust you on this mother."

"Thank you Little Sparrow, and know that us have had similar times in our life when we have failed." She sat down beside her daughter. "Let me tell you about the time I almost lost Veleana's friendship." She shook her head at the memory of her youth. "Let me tell you about the selfish brat that was your mother."

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Breakfast the next morning was interesting, something had shifted in Saji. He was calm and polite, looking as if a great weight had been lifted off of him. Sona on the other had was quiet and more pensive, both avoided looking at each other.

For the rest of them it was fine, they talked and chatted about what they would miss, but also how they were ready to go home. The three parents made an appearance and joined in, Serafall appeared in the middle of the table. Inoue seemed to be in a jolly mood as the Maou snagged a spot beside her… after checking to see that all the spots next to Sona were taken.

The Maou winked at him then whispered something to Inoue who went bright pink. Then recovered and smiled back at the Maou and whispered something back. Tsubasa was sitting between Reya, Momo and Ruruka and all three were discussing the latest box office movie or something. So, he had the odd case of Tsubaki sitting next to him. "You know," She told him quietly, "If there had been anymore cheese in your date you could have set up a business."

His cheeks darkened. "Did my best." He mumbled.

"I never said you did poorly, Sona loved it." She glanced at her King. "But she has some things on her mind right now. She truly loved the experience you gave her."

"What is on her mind?"

"She will tell everyone before we leave."

"I see." He hesitated, unsure of what to say next, the Queen of the peerage was the one he interacted with the least.

"So, Ichigo-Kun, you were able to get dear Reya a sit down and chat with Yuto-Kun." She said mildly.

His hackles rose in a fear response. "That was very nice of you and while the slide afterward was fun it does not really equal alone time with said Knight."

"I-it was kind of a spur of the moment thing."

"Mmmm, I see, that makes it all better." Her smile did not reach her eyes. "But it would be the least you could do if you, oh I don't know find a way for me to have a sit down with him." 'Why don't you just walk up to him and tell him.' He wanted to ask but did not because he was not stupid, or at least, not that stupid.

"I… I will see what I can do?"

"Oh you would, thank you Kurosaki-kun, I mean I'm not the kind of girl to make your life miserable but… if I was it would be over something like this." The grin on her face would not have looked out of place on the Millennium Earl.

"Got it." He glanced around for another open seat, but Mori-san was feeding Nel at the last open seat.

"Good, good, cause it would be a shame if, oh, I don't know any one of your girlfriends caught you naked in a compromising position with me. They know I am not a candidate for this little thing you have, so you would have to worry about opening doors, spending any amount of time in the shower, going to the..."

"Stop, stop I get it," He held up his hands in a placating gesture, "I will get on that."

"Hmmm," this time the smile did reach her eyes, "You know what? I believe you."

"Tsubaki," Sona said from across the table, she still looked distracted but, "Please stop terrifying my boyfriend." Hope sprang anew in Ichigo Kurosaki. "I don't need you threatening him on my behalf." Hope died as Sona clearly misread the situation.

"Oh, right, if you ever hurt Kaichou I will make your life not just a nightmare, but a living hell." The Queen added.

That was something he could get behind. "Once again, Understood."

The rest of the meal went better after that save for the fact that his mind was working on figuring out how to get Tsubaki what she wanted. His train of thought was interrupted as Sona cleared her throat getting their attention. "Last night me and my Mother had a talk where we discussed a few things that could help my peerage. My Mother has kindly offered to help Saji-san," The boy flinched, "Work on and master his Sacred Gear. Given what it is and the vast knowledge our family has collected over the years it has been decided that he will be spending the next few months here."

There was a variety of reactions among them, Tsubaki clearly knew ahead of time, Tsubasa rolled her eyes, clearly not buying the explanation, Tomoe was Tomoe, she looked happy for Saji, but then again she looked happy for most things.

Momo and Ruruka, their reaction was interesting, both looked at the boy who they had been crushing on for a while. One they had begun to leave behind, and both looked a little sad knowing that if this happened, things would change. But perhaps both thought that was for the better, after all they had found someone who actually looked at them how they wished. And despite his flaws Issei did have something. It was taking time to draw it out of him, but the boy had potential and if one could look past his perverted tendencies he was a good kid.

Sona looked neutral, Saji looked a mix of both relieved and unsure, resolved and wavering, a mix of emotions. Ichigo, on the one hand, felt relief, a few months without the boy's attraction to his...to Sona...it would be an irritant removed. On the other hand, he could guess that he was the cause of this, that if he was not here this would not be happening. Sona was doing a good stoic impression, but he knew her well enough by now to know that this hurt. That she would blame herself for not doing something, or not doing enough. He would need to get the whole story out of her before he said anything major about it.

"It's not like its that long of a time," Saji said, scratching his head, "And I'll still be coming back with you all, I need to talk to me parents about this…"

"Internship," Seras said, "And I will also be coming to help with that."

"Boo," Serafall said, crossing her arms, "I have to go to work, it's not fair."

"Levi-tan," Ichigo shook his head, "Who else will keep the Underworld from imploding?"

"I know," She put her head on the table, "That's why its not fair, I can't just blow it off. It's a fine balance between personal time and work. I've stolen so much time this week along I'm going to be swamped in paperwork."

"You could ask Sirzech to destroy it for you." Ichigo teased.

"Nope," The woman sighed, "I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if there is one thing he cannot destroy, it is paperwork."

"Oh, you will be fine daughter. Once that Queen of yours sits you down you get the work done fast."

Serafall glared at her mother. "When have you and my Queen had time to talk?"

Sebra just smiled. "Oh, you know, here and there, everywhere."

"My,my,my. Wife, I do hope you remember our rules about others."

"I remember share and share alike, but no, we aren't doing anything like that."

"Damn the luck," Seras grinned, "She is quite fetching."

"I know, but we have something in common." She glanced at her daughter. "We share advice and a cup of tea."

"I'm going to be glad when we get home." Sona whispered her face in her hands again. This was the second breakfast in a row that her parents had made sex jokes...perhaps it was a normal thing here, and if so, poor Sona. Serafall giggled at least and it was lovely sound.

"If I can help you," He said, "You only need to call."

"I could take so much advantage of that Ichi-kun, but no, I will not subject you to the horror that is my job. What you can really do is be ready in a couple of weeks. I'll wait 'till after your whole parent visit, which I am totally going to crash by the way."

"I figured."

"I'll come down, kidnap you and force you to play a villian on my show."

"Hmm," he nodded, "That sounds like a good plan, but, and hear me out, What if you come down and I go with you willingly?"

"Oh, that's much better." She agreed.

"Yes, save for roleplay, I find kidnapping a bit of hassle and would advise against it." Sebra added.

"Oh, come on, I was not that bad of a kidnapping victim." Corvos complined.

Well, at the very least he was glad Sona had this, her parents were warm and loving, her father overprotective, but in his place Ichigo might have done the same. He was glad to have seen this and even the slight pall cast by Saji's actions, which he was more than willing to say were justified. This had been a fun trip, but he was more than ready to go home… hmm he had two homes now and that also felt good.

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 **Know I know people were talking about Saji being traded and I did consider it, but given how at this moment it is not supposed to be permanent that felt a little extreme. Expressly with my interpretation of the peerage bond and devil bonds in general. So while is going off on long training montage / subtle therapy from Sona's mom. He had not left the peerage. Though Sona has received a few pawns due to her increase in power something Rias is going to do to Issei later.**

 **Anyway there is a mini story on A03 about some of the things Akeno and Asia got up to in the days that the Sitri peerage was away and this time I am sure there was no plot relevant stuff, just some good ol fashion smut.**

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 **Comments of the Week**

 **Ferdiad**

 **It feels a lot like wank how you're just powering up his love interests at masse so Ichigo doesn't overshadow them. i don't want a curbstomp but surely there are other ways of making them relevant without making them superdevils? The 0.01 of the 0.01 of devils ffs. Like I get that you don't want them to be irrelevant but surely there was a better wy?**

 _ **Its not everyone just Sona, Rias and Levi-tan and this is one my ideas that I had not seen done anywhere else and wanted to try it out. Rias is this because she is so much like her brother, the Reason Sona could do it was because of what happened to her in her past and what had to be done to save her. Levi-tan was not a super devil in show but I felt like she could just as well be one from all the stuff she has done over the course of the LN. But its ok if you don't like it, I just really enjoy hero stories where the supporting cast can actually support.**_

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 **Vadi6776**

 **The Sitri's continue to surprise ina very good way, specially for OC's, the plan of Corvo was great and his insurances so he only takes the fall was something great, even the move they put behind her daughter feel cool and great, my only complain about that whole aspect is Serafal's peerage which in canon she doesn't have, hoping to see an explanation about that in the future.**

 _ **Serafall's peerage was a change I made in the lore, I could not find anything saying yay or nay as to if she had one save for the fact that she did have evil pieces. So I decided that why not, let's give her a group of misfits who diffetnaly don't make themselves look like characters from anime because it pleases Levi-tan. lol We will be seeing more of them when Serafall drags Ichigo onto her show.**_

 **The way you understate humanity is a bit... Sad. Hunter's and Exorcists can handle mid-class Devils and Fallen**

 _ **Now this is a comment from a new user but, if he or she sees this they need not worry about the exorcists they are coming… including a fun character who might not have been in this arc originally but that is all I will say.**_

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 **Guestinator**

 **This one kinda lost me when Ichigo, Sonaa and even Serafall just shrugged off what happened here. There was no counter, no warning, nothing about the parts that this hurts for them and just a mini-calm rant about all the good parts while ignoring the bad.**

 _ **Well Serafall told them she would handle that part and she is a devil, not a human they have had centuries to work on when and where things need to happen. Corvus did something good, Serafall made sure he will not do it again and all is pretty much good. Got to remember that these creatures are not humans, the do have different ways of looking at the universe.**_

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 **Burner**

 **And you chapter came in one of the worst weeks of my life (not joking) so believe when I say you mad my whole week more beamreable.**

 **Now on the chspter itself, Ok I like the concept of the Bankai but at the same time I feel like it doesn't have the "punch" to be Tensa Zangetsu, the integration of everything Ichigo is. (Obviously he still has room to grow and he probably still doesn't master completely his Bankai) so it's more like an incomplete Bankai at this point.**

 **The reasons for the fight were well thought by Corvus and likeable enough to be forgive by the audience, he still is a demon that played Ichigo.**

 **My only complain about the fight is that Ichigo wasn't able to one shot Corvus, given that he should be between 5 to 10 times stronger than in shikai wich was a match for Corvus I thought he was just to finish him.**

 _ **Happy I could help brighten your week and I hope you are doing better. You make some good points about his bankai and as for the reason Ichigo did not just one shot Corvos you gotta remember he was playing around with his new Bankai and Corvos is one tough motherfffer. Hell even then Ichigo did still kind of oneshot him with the arrow.**_

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 **Comment of the Week**

 **HolyKnight5**

 **Human, Hollow Shinigami and now Devil. We still have the Hollow potential to fully express... If not the mysterious Sacred Gear integrated in Zangetsu... And the theoretical form if Ichigo manages to bring his Devil, Hollow and Shinigami powers combined into an ultimate Form...**

 **Ichigo is just starting to show what will make him a legend in Devil History.. And whatever comes will make him earn the Title of the Underworld's Number One Guardian…**

 _ **This is a great summary, thank you for it.**_


	32. Chapter 31

**Allright, new chapter is out and I hope you all enjoy.**

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Ichigo made to stand up but Koneko hissed at him and he elected to remain on the couch. four days had passed since his return to the human world. Three of which had been spent in frantic busy work as he juggled Issei's punishment, getting the Student Council paperwork in order, catching up on schoolwork, training a good number of people from both Peerages, spending nights learning Kido with Aizen, practicing with Kiba in how to actually use two blades, as Rias' Knight was the only one among them with a little bit of knowledge in how to do that. Even then he only showed Ichigo the basics and refused to go any further, saying it would hurt him rather than help.

The Occult Club had been just as busy as well, Issei's arm had apparently been acting up and Akeno had been the only one able to do something about it. Issei had informed him, nervously, that it had involved her sucking the power out through his finger, but she had been professional about it and he had done his best to do so as well. Ichigo guessed that the boy thought he would be mad, but despite the weirdness of said cure, if it helped even he would have done it. It would have been very awkward and uncomfortable, but that was what you did for family. Thankfully he was not needed for that job and, well, it did not seem to change the Queen's relationship with the boy...and even if it did would it be right for him to feel...possessive.

They had not even gone on a date yet, but some part of him registered the women as part of his sub-group, the girls who were now in a relationship with him. That mode of thinking made him want to smash his head into a wall, but that was life for him now. He was a Devil and had to keep that in mind. Anyway that drama averted he and Koneko were stealing some quiet time.

"Shhh," He whispered, running his hand through her hair, the other gently tickling her chin, "Sorry about that, guess I am not going anywhere."

"Nooo..." The girl replied, her expression one of pure bliss.

"Ok, ok," he paused, "I've been meaning to ask, do you just act like a cat sometimes or is there something I should know?" The question was a joke, but judging by the way the girl froze she had not taken it as such. He opened his mouth to assure her that she did not need to tell him anything when Koneko shuddered.

"I guess you deserve to know, I mean, you tell us all about your life freely and well…" She sighed. "It's not even that big of a secret." He decided to keep his mouth shut, wondering what he had stumbled into this time.

"I was not human before I became a Devil."

"Hmm, well that's interesting."

She glared up and grumbled at him. "Stop making this harder say."

"I'm listening." He figured that was the best two words he could offer.

"I… I mean, I guess it's better to show you first." Her aura flared white and he could sense something subtle, but vital, shift in her soul. Even still, the two fluffy ears that seemed to pop out of her head was a surprise as was the single white tale that pushed its way out from under her skirt and up his chest until it rested under his chin.

He blinked and then a few times more. "Cat girl?" Even as he said it his hand moved over the new ears, running through the fur that covered them. Koneko stiffened at the touch, looking ready to bolt at any moment. Carefully he moved his hand away and she relaxed, her tail bobbing a little, ticking his chin. "Sorry." He muttered.

"No, you just caught me off guard… you can touch them, your allowed...hentai." She added the last part under her breath.

In the same manner as he did with a real cat he moved very gently as he explored her new ears and ran a hand up her tail. That got a moan which was not at all decent and he decided to leave the tail alone for now, using the free hand to start running though her hair again.

Poor Koneko, she looked both ecstatic and embarrassed. "Not a cat girl," She mumbled, "That's like calling a vampire, blood sucker. I am...was a Nekomata."

"I have no idea what that is."

"It is a species of Yokai under the Shinto pantheon." There was clearly more to that, but perhaps this was as far as she was willing to go right now.

"Well," He hesitated, "You look really good." He sighed knowing how this made him sound. "Even cuter than normal, I did not know that was possible." She huffed though her tail was still bobbing in excitement.

"Thank you for telling me about this, it makes me happy that you trust me." Her new ears twitched once, turning about halfway towards him. He could not help himself as he ran a hand over the fluffy appendage.

"Hentai." She groaned.

"Your still mad at me for having to work? Besides, I'm not touching you anywhere inappropriate."

"I know, it would be nice if you did." She said that in her deadpan voice as if she did not care, but her new cat like appendages all went very still and alert.

Ichigo glanced around, there was no one in the clubhouse he could sense, ever since that little incident in her room they had not really done all that much in the way of touching beyond the norm.

She must have taken his hesitation for something else because she sighed her ears flattened and her tail dropped. "I know I don't have Serafall-sama's curves or Tsubausa-san's legs, or Bouchou's boobs or..."

Well, this was not going to lead anywhere productive. So, with one hand reached down to the base of her tail, his hand sliding under her skirt to do so, with the other he covered her mouth. He squeezed just a little, cutting off her speech as she let out a sharp sound between a scream and a moan. "None of that," He said quietly, "I will not hear you talk about yourself like that." She went very quiet as his hand drifted from mouth to her covered chest, pressing into the slight rise he found there. "I think it's time I made this clear, I like Koneko, I like how Koneko looks," he moved his hand up and down her tail, making her squirm as his other hand molested her small chest, "I like how Koneko acts, I like her. I am falling in love with that Koneko, not the unrealistic Koneko that is some amalgam of all the best traits that she sees." He let go of her and reached up to turn her head to him.

Her gold eyes were very wide, almost scared… and he was a little angry. "You are beautiful, you will be beautiful when and if you grow, you will be beautiful even if you do not grow. You are, barring Nel, and that is because she is a toddler, so it's unfair, the cutest person I know." He let go of her chest to point at her heart. "Don't you ever dare think that I would want, that I would wish, to see you change yourself or compare yourself to anyone else? I only care about what you think of yourself, how you see your body, am I understood?"

Koneko nodded, looking to the world like a started animal ready to bolt at the first sound. He leaned in and kissed her hard, harder than he had kissed anyone. He trapped her there, in his arms, as she squirmed; his tongue almost forced its way into her mouth as he plundered hers with abandon. Behind her, her tail lashed widely in excitement, the ears pricked to their full height. How far was he going to take this?... Far enough to make a point he decided. She let out a yelp as one of his hands slipped down her dress, under her skirt and into her underwear taking a tight grip on the firm flesh he found. When he pulled away for air he gasped out. "Do you still think I want you any other way?"

"Nya!" Was the only response she gave.

Oops, perhaps that was too much. He removed his hand and gently cradled her in his arms watching her small chest rise in fall with great breaths. If anything her response had embarrassed her far more than it had surprised him. So when she got her breath back he was not surprised at her first word. "Pervert."

"Sounds like you're projecting to me."

She closed her eyes and he felt a vibration that went though her body, this time clearly a purr. "I'm a girl, so I when I do it, it's hot."

"Well, you don't get a free pass from me on that, but it's ok." He leaned forward. "I think I can still love a little pervert." He whispered in her ear.

She looked like she might have had an objection to the word little, but after a moment let it go, perhaps she had been listening. "You can be intense, you know that, zero to one hundred in what a few seconds."

"Hey, I'm not the one who took a second of hesitation to mean that I was not physically attractive."

Koneko sighed. "Fair enough, I don't really know what came over me."

"How long has it been since you… let it all show?"

"Years." She admitted.

"Could be something to do with that, I do know a good family therapist who is helping out another much taller pervert."

She swatted at him, brushing her hand along his cheek. "I'm fine."

He decided to let it go for now and stood up, making Koneko growl, but since he was carrying her she seemed willing to allow it. He repositioned himself so he could lie down on the couch and let Koneko's light weight stay atop him. He slipped a pillow under his neck and one beside him so she could have her head close to his. "That's better, I could stay like this for a while." He put an arm over her belly. "There are a lot of advantages to being light, Koneko." He closed his eyes and whispered. "And lots to find attractive in the small."

"Hentai."

"Well it's you people's fault," He grumbled, "I used to be pure."

That got a snort from the Nekomana and he laughed at it, setting back for a well deserved break, but not before playing with her tail a little bit more.

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Golden eyes flickered open as a sensation passed over the woman with them, a warning, something set in place long again to make sure a precious child would remain safe. Would be healthy, would not be rushed. "So fast, nya." The woman yawned and stretched much like a cat would. "Now I have to go check on you, little one." She felt her back pop. "Who has stolen your little heart, Nya." She chuckled. "I hope for their sake they are worthy, little sis." She had a bit of time, the warning was set a little in advance of the event that would follow. "Well, I better get prepared, I have a bit of a journey to make, nya."

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Ichigo landed on the asphalt and gently let Koneko onto the ground. Nel loosened her grip a bit on his back, but otherwise looked comfortable. Rias Gremory had called them, she had called them to this abandoned warehouse. They were just in time to see Issei ride up on his bike with a large package. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at him and Issei shrugged. "Payment."

Rias cleared her throat. "Sorry to make you all come out here, but I have just received orders to kill a Stray Devil." Ichigo closed his eyes and found the creature easily enough. "Now I know that, given how strong we have all become, most of us could kill it easily enough, however I would like to take this opportunity to practice. Yuuto, Issei, Koneko, Ichigo, I want you to draw it out Akeno and I will be waiting in ambush, Asia in reserve for healing injuries. However, if things get truly dangerous you are to strike with extreme prejudice, am I understood?"

"Yes Buchou." They all replied, all of them except Kiba Yuuto.

The blonde hardly looked to be paying attention, his eyes distant. "Kiba!" Issei called out.

The boy blinked. "What?" He shook his head. "Sorry, I am ready."

Rias gave the boy a worried look, but did not say anything. "Are we ready to go?" Issei sounded excited, but seemed to take some of what Ichigo had been teaching him to heart. Things like not rushing in, or letting your excitement get the better of you. The excitement part was something Ichigo himself still had trouble with, no better represented visibly then by his Hollow.

Nodding, the four walked up to the steel doors and Koneko moved without a second thought to the center of the doors and pausing. "I wonder what kind of stray devil it will be?" Issei said. "It's kind of exciting now that I'm not going to just die from it looking at me."

"Stay wary." Ichigo warned, as he noted Kiba's eyes straying off into the distance again. Koneko ignored them, raising one arm and holding it an inch from the door. She took in a breath and a glow showed through her white shirt, on her outstretched arm the Gremory Rose glowed is black-red menace. She flicked out one finger, the digit hitting where the doors met each other. The metal things went flying, one spinning and hitting a support post hard enough to bend the beam and causing the metal door to warp, and almost wrap around, the thing. The other slammed into the cinder blocks of the far wall and went halfway through before stopping. Koneko pulled her hand back, looking at it, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Oh wow," Issei said, "That looked painful."

Ichigo patted her on the head, a bit sorry at the absence of her furry ears, but she only wanted to show him and no one else yet, so that was fine. Ichigo moved past her. "I'll drive it out of hiding, Issei, Kiba you two keep it corralled around me, Koneko when you get the chance, toss it out of here." He paused. "Oh, and before I forget." Each person in the Gremory Peerage glowed as he used his Mutated Piece's ability to share his Rook protection and strength with them all. "Remember, just like we practiced." He announced.

"Right." Issei said.

Kiba did not answer but that was his way, however that distraction..."Kiba!" He said again, louder.

The boy rocked in place. "I'm here."

"Stay focused, this is still dangerous." Ok, not really that much, but he wanted them to treat it like it was. The Knight nodded in reply and they walked into the moonlit interior of the warehouse. If they had been using sight alone it might have taken some time, but Ichigo could sense the foul mix of hate and power the creature had become. And since he knew where to look he could see a rather pretty looking face watching them behind a machine. He closed his fists and focused his spiritual power into them. The force of his swings in Shikai was now akin to Getsuga Tenshou so he figured he could use a punch the same way to do a bit of damage and scare their prey out of hiding.

As his fist shot out, something flowed from inside him, latching on to the image in his head of what he wanted. A silver circle appeared, lines intercepting the center like an X with four smaller silver circles in each of the spaces created by the X. The force of the blow took on a visible silver tinge, ribbons of power that moved like wind currents flickering in and out of sight. There was the sensation of a power being drawn out of him, one vastly smaller than his spiritual force, but there none the less.

Debris went flying, the machinery the monster was hiding behind groaned with strain, the silver ribbons of power slammed into the hidden Stray, slamming it into the back wall hard enough to crack it. Now visible in the moonlight it was revealed by the naked upper torso of a woman and some sort of mutated spider with large feet on the ends of its arachnid legs. Its arms too had been mutated into large bear like paws with dagger sharp black claws like chips of obsidian.

It hurled itself into the remnants of the ceiling scaffolding, howling at them in blind fury. Sending a gob of acid from its suddenly distended mouth. The blast went straight towards Kiba, but the boy was once again distracted and not even looking in the right direcion. Koneko shoulder checked him, knocking him out of the way. The acid would have hit the girl, but a shield materialized and it did not melt in the slightest. Ichigo mentally took Kiba out of the fight, as the Stray lunged down like a falling star at Issei. The boy rolled to the side in a smooth motion, his gear announcing his boost. He was up on his feet and dodged a flailing arm and snapping jaw, landing a solid punch on the thing's thorax. The enhanced blow launched the monster across the floor right into Koneko who had come up in a crouch took in a breath and slammed the thing with an uppercut that shattered most of its back end, sending the thing careening up and out of the building. The air above them crackled with energy as Akeno made her move.

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The Queen had been waiting for that moment just like she had been ordered, her Devil Power dancing at her fingertips. But…she could add more. " _Does the girl love Rias more than she hates the man?"_ Yes, of course, but the power was not needed here, not yet. She could take things slower. With the end of that thought she jerked her hand across as the Stray came flying out of the building, running it through with lighting guiding its harsh descent into the yard with a spine cracking snap.

She watched as her King approached it. "A disobedient creature, consumed by its own desires, such a sinful thing deserves punishment." Dark power crackled around the girl as her right hand became the Power of Destruction. "In the Name of the Gremory, I shall be that punishment." The stray weakly hissed at her King as she raised her hand and blasted a five foot crater in the ground, swirling dark power devouring the Stray, the dirt and everything else with equal abandon. Rias pulled back her arm and stared at it for a moment, the Power of Destruction seeming to strain against her will, consuming her arm down to the elbow before snapping back to her hand and finally her normal flesh returned.

Akeno watched as the rest of the Peerage emerged, Ichigo going over to Rias, which was followed by the King pulling Kiba off to the side. Akeno landed just as a resounding slap echoed through the night air. "Did that wake you up?" Rias asked with more than a hint of anger born of worry. "One misstep and someone could have died."

Kiba hardly stirred at the blow, he replied with an almost mechanical ease. "I'm sorry."

"Yuuto," Rias put a hand on the cheek she had just slapped, "What's wrong? I have never seen you like this before."

"Today just has not been a good day." He replied. He bowed, using the motion to move her hand off his face. "I have to excuse myself for now, I need some time alone." With those words he turned and walked away, that same robotic gait, not seeming to care where he was going.

"Kiba." Akeneo blinked as Issei ran up to the Knight, he put a hand on the boy's shoulder and she wondered if the boy could sense the pure threat that flared up from the boy. Judging by his gulp he had. "What was that, you're acting really weird, I don't think I have ever heard you be curt with Bouchou."

"It's none of your business." The Knight replied.

"When it puts one of us in danger it becomes our business." Ichigo said. He had not moved from his spot, but even so, his words were cutting.

"Not just that," Issei said, "I'm worried."

Kiba stiffened, a low smile you could cut steel with touching his face, turning his handsome features almost ugly. "Worried about whom?" Issei paused, confused. "Devils are naturally self-centered creatures."

"What does that have to do with me being worried about you, with _us_ being worried about you?" Issei waived his hand over all of them.

The Knight shivered. "Nothing, nothing, I apologize for what happened."

"It better not happen again." Ichigo said.

Issei looked frustrated. "What is going on, you can tell us, you can tell me. We're family aren't we?"

"Family?" Kiba turned to look at Issei, his eyes sharper than the blades he could create. "Family..." He said the word again as if tasting it. "You have quite the passion when roused Issei… but honestly I should be thanking you."

"What?"

"You remind me of who I am, why I fight, why I _live._ " The last word was spoken with such venom that Issei took a step back.

"Bouchou?"

"No," the knight shook his head, "For vengeance, for restitution, for the destruction of the Holy Sword Excalibur. That is my goal Issei, sorry that it is not as pure as yours."

The Knight turned around and almost ran into Ichigo, Akeno had to blink, realising that she had not seen him move. He was looking right into Yuuto's eyes and the Knight stared back, unblinking. "Ah." Ichigo said.

Yuuto paused beside him and put a hand on the taller boy's shoulder. "You seem to get it, what did you do to the creature that killed your mother?"

"My father killed it," Ichigo replied, "Though not before I put in my own try at doing the same."

"Then you understand more than any of them why I do this."

The former soul reaper nodded. "I know the why, I want to know how you got here."

"Ask Bouchou, she knows the story." With that Kiba let go of Ichigo's shoulder and walked away into the dark.

All of them in the peerage turned to look at Rias, Akeno herself knew the story, but she might be the only one besides the President. The Devil watched her Knight vanish with a worried expression. "Let us go back to the Club House, I will explain it to you all at once." Akeno stepped forward to facilitate the teleportation, and made a note to make some tea for the Pres and Asia. The former because it would help her neves, the latter because what they were about to hear would make her sad and stressed, so she would need a little pick me up. Her magic circle appeared under them and they all vanished in a crack of displaced air.

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"Koneko," She glanced at him as they moved to sit down, "What I did back there, was that the Power of Imagination?"

"Looked and felt like it to me."

"Well, that's something I'm going to have to check on."

They all got quiet as Rias leaned against her desk. "To those of you who don't know, Kiba, like many of you did not have the most kind past. To set the scene, you need to know what Holy Swords are. As far as we can tell they are weapons created to fight Devils and by extension the Fallen. I think some of you have seen the mass produced lightsaber-like weapons which anyone can use. There are, however, special and unique weapons, True Holy Blades, that can end all but the highest Devils in a single slash. One such weapon is the sword Excalibur, the sword of legend. It is weapons such as these that require special users. Rare mortals with the highest degree of the light attribute."

She let them take it all in. "To have an attribute of magic to a degree where it blots out all others is rare. And given the number of attributes possible, any specific element is rarer still. The Church was not happy with that situation, relying on such people finding them."

"Sounds to me like that was the point." Ichigo murmured.

He forgot that Devils had great hearing. "How so?" Rias asked.

"Their Religion is based on faith in a higher power with a grand divine plan. With what little I have heard, it's book is all about people answering the call of this divine being when the time is right."

Akeno chuckled, but Asia nodded. "That makes sense to me, you have to have faith." Almost on reflex she bowed her head. "Dear lord."

Ichigo felt something shift in him at the sight, the feeling of mercy and love twisted inextricably with one another. The emotion not his own, Asia flinched as if waiting for something then blinked in confusion. "It did not hurt?"

Oddly, no one but he seemed to hear her say that. "Be that as it may, the Church decided that it was not a tolerable situation. So certain programs of searching and recruitment were put in order resulting in the creation of the title Knight Exorcist for those who did not want to do the job and live a life of celebrity." Rias shrugged. "That in and of itself is not all that concerning, but what else they did was much darker. Programs of breeding and scientific experiments attempting to artificially create people with the proper attribute to wield the Holy Blades." Sadness and wrath, those were the emotions that filled the former shinigami now. "Kiba was one such child, an orphan taken in by the Church for use in the Holy Sword Project. He was one of many, and those who were in it with him became his family, his first family." Destruction flickered around Rias's body like static. "When they were deemed to have failed the project, they were simply killed." Silence filled the room.

"No..." Asia whispered, tears in her eyes.

"The Church is like any other organization, filled with mortals, and there is nothing in particular that stops them from being fooled, from making use of those with lesser morals." The King shook her head. "I would like to say something snide at that fact, but my race is far from perfect in this regard, so I will leave it at that."

"I don't think there is any race free from such things." Ichigo said.

"True enough, but in this case Kiba suffered greatly and, from what I understand, his family, the people he had grown to love, were the reason he was able to escape. They gave their lives for him, for his sake, and as he stumbled into the snow, half dead from the poison gas they had been using to kill the failures, I found him," Rias looked at her hand, "And gave him a choice." Another quiet settled on them at those words. "Naturally, he has never forgiven the Church for what happened, but he is smart enough to know that 'The few, not all.' argument is in effect."

"So, he had focused on the reason for why he and his family were experimented on in the first place." Ichigo said.

"Exactly, and something must have triggered this, but I don't know what."

Issei put his hand on his face. "He was over at my house today, mom was showing everyone pictures of when I was a little boy." His cheeks darkened at that. "In one of the pictures he pointed out a sword, one that a friend I knew a long time ago had as a sort of family heirloom, or gift, or something. I don't remember very well."

"I see," Rias nodded, "Then he should just need some time to himself, though we will all have to keep and eye on him and a hand outstretched."

"Yes Bouchou." They all replied.

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It had started raining, Kiba Yuuto moved through it like a ghost, hardly noticing the cold it brought. Such a thing was nothing compared to the biting white of the snow on that cold night he escaped.

The vision of those Blades that made up Excalibur set his blood boiling, the feeling of shame at his actions that day chilled his bones. He felt almost feverish, yet so clear of mind it was terrifying. To think that his target had once been here, in this city, so close at hand for his vengeance.

He knew it would not have mattered, he would have not even been part of the experiment at that point in time… but his heart did not care. Vaguely he was aware of passing some people who were braving the rain for some reason or another. Those mortals passed by him, either without looking or giving him a wide berth.

By this point his clothing was so soaked it was starting to feel like weights around his body, at least it was too cold to be his own blood. Kiba had no real destination in mind, no idea of how to clear his head. Perhaps time was the only real answer, but that was a cold comfort. Some sensation brought him to a stop. The feeling of someone looking at him, looking at him with such focus that even his distracted mind wallowing in pain sensed it.

He glanced from side to side and his gaze locked on to a pair of storm colored eyes that seemed to pierce his soul. It set his everything on edge, the feeling of very real and present danger so tangible you could taste it in the air. The man look old, wrinkles of age that spoke of smiles and laughter creasing his face. But what set Kiba on edge was the man's body, that did not look at all close to an elderly man. Rather it was a body built on the scale of the Incredible Hulk, thick neck, thick arms, thick legs, thick chest, parts of the man appeared to have the same girth as Kiba himself had in his whole body.

The man held his spot, body hunched against the rain, his coat below him covering something just as his body covered it. A head poked out that looked comically small against the man's bulk as a dog blinked at him before slipping back under the coat. The wind picked up and the coat fluttered slightly showing at least six pups mindlessly sucking milk from their mother.

"You look lost boy," the man said in English. The Knight said nothing, his body tense and ready to move at the slightest whisper of attack. "Ah, I see." The old man stroked the dog under him. "I tend to have that effect on people." His arm moved up and there was a series of popping sounds as he stretched it out. "There are a great many who will not look past the outside, I find animals tend to do so less." The dog poked its head out again and licked the massive finger that was stroking its head. "But enough about that, you look hurt and lost." Those stormy eyes found his again. "That tends to happen when you cast aside our Lord."

Anger sizzled, but Kiba kept it under wraps. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I am Cardinal Vasco of the exorcist order," That name tickled something in Kiba's brain, but he could not tease it out with the state he was in, "And you are?"

"Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Rias Gremory." He was ready, willing, waiting for any motion on the part of his enemy to move. But the old man just nodded. "So a young one then, I wonder what promise of power pulled you from the path of light."

"Power!" Kiba laughed. "Don't you dare pretend that the Church has any ground to stand on when it comes to _acquiring_ power."

"Hmmm," the Cardinal tilted his head, "That sounds personal."

"Personal?" The word almost set him into a murderous rage. "You people killed my family, my family who trusted in your kind words, and empty platitudes." Weapons of Fire and Ice appeared in his hands, raindrops hissing to steam as the hit the fire "You people just gassed them like the Nazi fucks you are."

The words had been chosen to get a rise, to get something, but again the man did not move. In fact the appearance of weapons did not seem to bother him in the slightest. "There have been many in the Church who have strayed from the true path, and they are judged much harsher than even you will be. But if you speak of gas...Are you a survivor of the Holy Sword Experiments?"

He knew, he knew, and that meant he was complicit, Kiba blurred forward with a wordless scream, blades flashing, but something hit him, something hard, like a train going sixty. In between two heartbeats he was slammed into and somewhat through a stone wall, indenting his body into the obstacle. Kiba made a choking cough as a glob of blood dribbled from his mouth; his eyes took a moment to focus.

The old man lowered his massive hand, the same one he had backhanded the Knight with such speed that he had not even seen it coming. "That was one of our greatest failures," The old man continued his expression one of pure remorse, "An action not sanctioned by the Pope or God himself. Monsters that were either slipped in by men who thought they were doing God's will or those who were simply willing to take, whatever price was offered. Those who sought their own glory, using the name and authority of the Church as a shield. Thus it has always been, a Church made up of failable men who make mistakes."

"We were not a mistake!" Kiba roared and the stone exploded as he tore himself out of it, fighting through the pain, pain that was nothing close to what his family had experienced.

"What happened was a mistake, the fact that they used the children of the Church, that was nigh-on unforgivable." The Knight grit his teeth, calling a weapon, a weapon large and strong, something to cut though this dog of the church in one blow. "In one way it was my fault your family was killed."

Kiba snapped, leaping into the air and bringing the weapon down with all his might, the old man stopped the blow with his thumb and forefinger, his head not even turning to look. "When I found out what was happening I made for them. But they had been watching me, and others like me. Someone I trusted very much warned them I was coming and when I arrived I found only the dead."

This.. this bastard, pretending that he would do something, that he had done something, surely their God would have seen what was happening, surely if he really cared then he would have done something in time. He forced down more of his strength on the weapon, but Cardinal Vasco simply closed his fingers and the force shattered the weapon into tiny pieces. Almost in the same motion the hand shot forward and flicked him like one might a paper football. The blow to his gut felt like the most murderous attack Kiba had ever experienced as he slammed back into the, now quite broken, wall. "Do not attack me Devil, I do not wish to harm you, especially not one who made a choice as understandable as you."

Kiba blinked a little as spot appeared in his vision, his body still trying to move, forcing him to his feet. "To tell you the truth, I would rather not be in this place, sent to do a duty that I would wish on no man." The Knight raised a hand to call forth another sword but froze as Vasco looked at him again. The look was all he needed to convey what would happen if Kiba tried something once more, the light died in his hand with no sword making an appearance. "In the name of the most Holy Church I offer my sincerest apologies that we were not able to have guarded you and yours as we should have. But I realize nothing can change that past, none-the-less you and your Mistress will soon have more pressing matters."

The rain came to a stop and the chill abated, the man stood up to his full height of two and a half meters. The dog gave a grateful bark and the Cardenal Vasco smiled a little at the sound "Go in peace Devil, I only have one target in this town and you are not it." With a final nod he turned and began to walk purposefully away from the Knight. Kiba found himself suddenly lacking the strength to stand as he half collapsed, coughing up more blood onto the street. He was going to have to get that looked at, but first… Bouchou, he needed to warn Bouchou. He tried to stand, but did so too fast and this time did fully collapse as he vomited what little food he had in him at the moment. The Knight blinked a few times from his spot on the concrete, his mind going all fuzzy. How hard had that man hit him?

He tried to focus though that pain, but as he blinked it got harder to open his eyes, with the last effort he could muster he activated a communication spell. "Bouchou." He said and knew no more.

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 **And coming in almost 17 ln novel books too early is….the terrifying scary man who despite how he is described I cannot help but imagine as Alexander Anderson. Lol Kind of like how when I picture Michael the Archangel in this universe I always see Mael from the Nanatasu no Taizai.**

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 **Comments of the Week**

 **Cloth Slayer**

 **I've been enjoying things so far in that so far even with ichigo explaining his and orihime origins of their powers, he doesn't start useing bleach vocabulary like he expects everyone to follow no problem which I've seen a majority of discontinued fics do so I'm happy there's real situations with different reactions. i do hope that you bring the fullbringers as a two chapter villain arc to see how human/hollow power affects them compare to ichigo whose power is too mixed to see any clear affects from one part only.**

 _ **For the first part I try to keep in mind that with how I have it set up both sides don't know all the much about each other and what they do know only the higher ups have access to.**_

 _ **As for the second part I dont really know if they could take anything from him, or it they did it might outright kill them. Expressly with the new thing that was revealed in this chapter.**_

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 **Razmire**

 **It's hard to say if Ichigo or Sona have the more embarrassing parents. On the one hand, Sona's parents make sex jokes and talk about their sex lives while their daughter and her peerage are around. On the other hand, you have the insane asylum escapee known as Issun, enough said. I suppose Sona's parents could be considered more embarrassing simply because there are three of them and only one Issun, but it would still be very close.**

 _ **I think Ichigio considers his dad much less of an evil than Sona's parents, waking up to a flying drop kick is nothing compared to hearing what your parents do on their anniversary.**_

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 **NegaDruid**

 **Aaaah, another chapter in what has become one of my favorite DxD crossovers, right up there with the Dresden Files and Fate crossovers. The possibilities and plot moving ahead in the story tantilize to the extreme. I can't wait to see what happens on the visit home, not to mention the soon to begin Excalibur arc... culminating in a final fight with a certain Fallen Angel. Thats going to be pretty glorious to see how that Rias and Sona are BOTH Super Devils thanks to Ichigo. Especially if Kokabiel brings in help to deal with the situation. Sure he was confident to deal with Rias and Sona before they awoke their powers, but will he be as confident going up against two Super Devils?**

 _ **We will have to see, both girls are not advertising there new station of power, and you can bet your bottom dollar most of devil society wants to keep it that way. We will have to see what happens when that fallen arrives, there has already been two major changes, what other effects could there be?**_

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 **Vysirez**

 **I am happy to see another chapter. I have to say I struggled a bit with this one though. Not sure if it's just be being distracted or not, but I kept losing track of who was saying what. A large part of it is names you can't really do anything about. Tsubaki, Tsubasa. Sebra, Seras, Serafell, Sona. Not too similar, but can still get a bit confusing. Also got a confused for a bit before I remembered Yuto-kun was Kiba. Which leads to my other comment.**

 **I found Tsubaki's conversation with Ichigo to be offensive. She wanted his help getting an in with Kiba, that is fine, just ask Ichigo for a favor. Threatening him with false charges of sexual harassment or attempts to interfere with his relationships is not ok. I really wanted Ichigo to stomp on her. Maybe it's meant to be more joking then it came off to me, but since she followed up with a shovel speech, it seems at least a bit serious. Not to mention Ichigo seems to be getting a million shovel speeches, though that is partially his fault for dating like 50 people. So ya, I found Tsubski to be offensive, and I didn't think it was really in character for Ichigo to just take it.**

 _ **To the first part I will work on that and to the second they both knew she would not do that, she loves her family too much to do that. I just thought it was a funny way of her asking him to help set her up. But I can see how this could be taken way too seriously, and will think on that if such a situation comes up in the future.**_

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 **Comment of the Week**

 **1Batman4u**

 **I can picture Ichigo's latent Devil powers being dependent on his Peerage members mutating before it can awaken, requiring a feedback loop between Ichigo and the various mutant Evil Pieces.**

 **Sera-tan: "I wonder what power [insert name] will evolve."**

 **Ichigo: "You want to do a Pokemon parody, don't you?"**

 **Sera-tan: (bashful) "…Maybe…"**

 **Ichigo: (teasing) "Gotta date 'em all."**

 **Sera-Tan: (teasing) "Does your Caterpie want to String Shot my Shellder?"**

 **Ichigo: "Such poetic innuendo."**

 **Sera-Tan: (false modesty) "It's a gift."**


	33. Chapter 32

**Merry Christmass to all and thank you to Aroneden for proofreading this and letting me get it out on this week. While its a short one, this thing is chock full of plot relevant facts so have fun. (I know this is even shorter than normal but it is Christmas so give me a little slack)**

 **By the way I have seen this in the comments a lot and I need to stress this fact (Beyond a few people most are not aware of the changes to Sona and Rias. Now given how Ichigo's fight was streamed live they have seen him but still don't know all that much.) But to be clear "The current players in this arc outside of one spy for the enemy faction do not know Sona and Rias are superdevils and both girls are working to keep there power hidden for as long as possible)**

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"Any particular reason we are doing it this late brat?" Ichigo ignored the old bat and focused on the area around him. He was at the point where he had absorbed every speck of ambient spirit energy he could find and still she told him there was more. He yelped as she poked him in the side with a stick. "Answer my question dumbass."

"Had to help kill a stray who had gone mad."

"Hmph, did you use you new bow to do it?" As he had expected she had been less than amused with his Bankai's bow form.

"No."

Sensei grunted again. "Fine." She tapped the ground three times. "Honestly, how long is this going to take you, do you really need another clue?" When he did not answer she rolled her eyes. "You have to expand your view, you have drawn all the energy out of the air, all the free floating power, but have you asked yourself where it comes from? Why every place on earth has these particles, even places like this where only I live?"

Ichigo frowned, that was a good question. He had just assumed that it came from souls just like his. "The highest mountain will have it, the depths of the ocean will have it, the outer reaches of the atmosphere will have it."

What did all those have in common? What connected them? "They are parts of nature?"

"Closer."

That answer just frustrated him and he forced his sense, but felt nothing, and she kept saying there was more, where was there more and what did it have to do with the lonely places of the earth?

He frowned at that last word, they were all part of the earth… it could not be that simple could it? Placing a hand down on the ground he sent his senses downward. Nothing of course what did he think he would… he back went stiff as his reach touched something, a soul, one so mighty so bright, so vibrant. Its power was many orders of magnitude beyond even when he had used Mugetsu. What was more it noticed him, a tiny fraction of this unimaginable soul focused on him.

Ichigo screamed as focus broke and he was snapped back to his body he yanked his hands away from the earth. "T-the earth has a soul."

"Not quite." Sensei shrugged before pointing her cane at his fingers. "Be careful about how much you draw on Gaia." He looked down at his hands to see the tips of his fingers burned black, perhaps the nerves had been obliterated, but he did not feel pain from it.

"Get one of those healing girls you told me about to fix that, however I think you finally get what I have been trying to tell you."

"Um… that I need to expand my perceptions and preconceptions?"

"A good enough answer," she shrugged, "The earth, as you now know, is alive. What you felt as a soul is much closer to the manifestation of this planet. She has many names, but Mother Gaia is the current favorite whenever she can pull together enough of her attention to notice what is essentially a bacterial infection who wants to talk to her."

A few flakes of black skin fell off and the shock of pain came with it, he could feel his Hollow power welling up inside him, seeking to heal and protect the body so that it could do battle. "Why did I need to know this?"

Sensai rolled her eyes. "There are many reasons dumbass. For one, while you are on this earth it is an extra source of power, two, there are things bigger than you, remember that, three, if you can pull power from the earth itself, what else can you pull power from? Think on that. Four, the fact that you are even able to sense Gaia means you have gained more control over your power. Believe it or not, it is actually really hard to do what you just did, what's more she noticed you, that is a bit concerning. The people she usually noticies are the protectors of the forest, like druids, or mages who have done great works in her name, that sort of thing." She looked him over. "Perhaps it is your unique nature, that might do it." She tapped her cane on the ground again, face drawn in thought.

"What shall we do next?" Ichigo asked.

"Work on your Blut, your control is better, but you are still wasting a great deal. Given the vast reserves of power you have in your body and what you can draw on around you I think you could have one of the strongest Blut users that has ever existed. However, to get there will require you to be slightly less of a dumbass." She waved her cane. "Follow me." And began to hobble back to her house.

As they entered a room he frowned at what he saw. "What are those spikes for?"

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His hands were covered in bandages by the time he left for the night, even his minor inherent healing factor took time when you kept running your hand though with a metal object. She would not just let him balce on the air, nooo, he had to use his spiritual power to balance on the tip of a needle sharp metal spike. And she had told him to be grateful she was letting him use his whole hand, given that she had been balancing on a pinky while telling this to him he did not like what the future held.

The moment he stepped outside of her bounded field he received a message through communication. 'Get back when you can, there might be trouble brewing.'

While he was tempted to go from Zero to Bankai he resisted the urge as they would have told him there was serious trouble. However, he would need to talk to Sensei about letting his communication through, after all she could let TV signals in.

Putting that aside for later he shot across the night sky, on a whim unsheathing his wings, thus it came as a surprise when, instead of the two he expected, six shot out of his back. While that did throw him off at first, it turned out six wings pushing him in a straight line did get up quite the speed after a time. Perhaps that was on advantage of wings like this, eventually you could pick up and maintain a high speed with little effort.

The land under him flashed by in a blur for a time before the welcome lights of Kouh made an appearance. He slowed, letting his wings vanish so he could regain his much greater control over movement and vanished in a Flash Step.

His feet touched the dirt of Kuoh Academy a few seconds later. Around the building he could sense a powerful barrier, several layers in fact, each with the signature of both Rias and Sona. The massive amount of raw power was impressive, it seemed both girls were willing to take full advantage of their new nature. He could also sense the majority of the Devils were either in the area or close to one another. Tomoe, Ruruka, and Tsubaki were in the latter's house as they all lived close by. Reya, Koneko, Issei, and Momo were patrolling the school grounds. Sona, Rias, Tsubaki, Akeno, Asia, Inoue and Kiba were all in the Occult Research building.

'Where do you need me?' He asked Rias via the spell given that it had been her calling him back.

'My side, we need to talk.' So he opened the door and made his way to the main room, noting the serious expression on their faces and outright worry on the two Kings. Kiba looked a little worse for the wear, it was clear he had been under the attention of the two healers but something in the way he held himself, or rather did not hold himself, spoke of a feeling of defeat. Rias and Sona were in deep discussion with both their Queens and Ichigo moved quietly to stand next to Inoue and Asia. "What happened?"

"Kiba-kun was hurt, we were called into heal him." Inoue said quietly. "When he named his attacker it really seemed to disturb Bouchou and Kaichou." Asia said nothing, her face was pale as a ghost, he reached out a hand and she took it gratefully. Inoue gave him a grateful nod and he noticed that she had been holding the girls other hand. She shook her head when she noticed his glance, guess she did not know what was wrong either.

He focused on the conversion between the two Kings. "Ever heard of him?"

"No, but given the damage he did to your Knight he must be strong, do we have any idea who he is after?"

"Given that the truce we have right now is unspoken it could be anyone, there have been a lot of strays in town."

"However his warning about something coming, why would an Exorcist do that?'

"Asia did say that she knew him, and he her, that he was a kind and gentle man who helped care for her in her youth."

Sona put her hand to her head. "How do we protect our families? A good many live with their mortal parents. If they are attacked then…" Her eyes flickered and the vast power in her body stirred like something vast coiling in preparation to strike. "We cannot allow that to happen."

"What if," Akeno mused, "While this is going on, we just have a long sleepover at your house,c Sona. You have enough room for everyone twice over, it would mean only one place to set up defences, and we could all be in a large group when we go to and from school."

The Sitri King made a thoughtful sound, Rias herself looked to be thinking it over as well. "We, of course, will pay."

Sona waved her hand in a shushing gesture. "You are my friend, and your family is always welcome with mine...besides, our peerages are connected in a way no others are." They both glanced at Ichigo and noted him listening in.

"Well, good of you to show up." Rias said.

"Just to give you a recap," Sona continted, "Kiba had an encounter with an Exorcist of the Church."

"A powerful one." The boy said camly. Compared to the hours before, the boy was focused again. "He could move his limbs faster than I could see… though I was not in the best frame of mind." He described what the man looked like and just from the description alone he sounded intimidating.

"He called himself Cardinal Vasco," Sona said during a break in the converarion, "I have not heard of that name."

Rias shook her head. "I have not either, perhaps our families have, however we have already sent messages to them."

Sona drummed her fingers on the table. "We should get moving now. Let's get to my house and set up our defences, then we can discuss more of this."

Rias nodded. "Akeno I need you with me, there are a few things we need to retrieve." The Queen glanced at Ichigo looking from him to Asia.

The former Shinigami nodded and the Queen took a more relaxed stance, it only took a few minutes of phone calls, and magic spells for the parents to agree, and one massive teleportation, but they were all within the confines of Sona's Earthly house and with amazing efficiency, helped by the fact that all of her peerage already knew what to do and in fact had drilled for such a move to happen, it only took an hour for everyone to have a room, clothing, toiletries, and other necessities.

By chance Ichigo found a moment alone with his King and went over to her. "Are you ok?"

Sona did not look at him. "You ask that every day."

"That's because you can't hide it from me."

He put his arms around her and she let out a sigh. "I can't help but imagine all the times I could have avoided the situation I find myself in. When I could have been clear, when it would have mattered."

"Well, if you want to, you can blame me a little, after all this would not have happened without me."

"I don't blame others for my mistakes and I am not going to start now." She put a hand on his arm and tapped gently. He let go and she took a deep breath. "I think the best thing I can do is to go talk to him in a month or so, once he has some time." Her hand moved over her heart. "If he only wants to be part of my Peerage for a chance with me then he needs to know." She closed her eyes. "I truly hope my Mother can help him."

Deciding that was a good point to leave things at he just nodded. "Thank you doing this Sona, for protecting us I want you to know that I appreciate it."

She glanced at him with more than a hint of pride in her eyes. "This is what my job is, what my job will be. It is good practice… granted this is more real than I would like."

He nodded. "Speaking of practice," He held out his hand and a white power flowed into the plam of his hand were it glowed faintly, "I seem to have found my Devil Power."

Her eyes lit up "That is excellent!" She spun on him. a smile driving away the worry from her face for a second, her shoulders drooped. "But we can't do anything about it yet, Rias and I have to make barriers and we will both need our Queens help. Could you make dinner for everyone?"

"I'll get Asia to help, I hear she is getting good at it."

"Perhaps you could add Inoue to that too."

Ichigo hesitated. "Unless it's bread...um...her food can be…a unique experience."

Sona rolled her eyes. "Then have her make some fresh bread, that sounds wonderful right about now."

"Will do." She put a hand on his arm, squeezed it, and moved to head up the stairs, from what he had heard she had put Rias in her room, mostly to make sure both could coordinate things fast if things went to Hell. However, he could not help but think there was just a bit of the desire in his King for a teen sleepover with her best friend. Something he would guess they had done as kids, but probably not in any recent history. He did not really count their little adventure to the Underworld as a sleepover.

With a tiny effort of will he activated his communication and called the two Devils he wanted to help, he hardly made it to the kitchen when the sound of running feet echoed from down the hall, two sets of feet slowing to a walk as they rounded the corner. Ichigo smiled at both of them and waved them in. "Thank you both." He nodded at Asia. "Have you settled in?"

The blond nodded with a smile. "Yep, I was put in a room with Momo, she said she'd show me some Bishop tricks."

"Hmm did they give you any roommates Inoue?"

She nodded. "Tsubasa-chan, though there is only one bed, but as they said no one is sleeping alone, we have to have two in every room."

"Guess that means Issei, and probably Kiba, are going to be with me in the guest house." Well that did not sound too bad, but if they thought they were taking his bed both had another thing coming. "I'll take care of the main dish, Inoue your in charge of bread, Asia you get the vegetables and dessert."

"Ok." They both said in unison, he blinked as he looked back and found both wearing aprons where there had only been normal clothing before.

"That is so useful." He mumbled. In all honestly that seemed to be one of those amazing, yet unspoken, powers that just had so many uses. Sometimes he wondered why Devils bought clothing in the first place, but then again since it was based on imagination, that could be a hard limit… plus owning a physical object probably carried more weight.

They each went about getting things in order, preparing the meal for those who were going to need it. "Do you sense that Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo frowned, closing his eyes. He had to keep his mind from reaching downward otherwise the all encompassing power of the Earth would flood his senses.

"What do you mean?"

Asia was looking at both of them biting her lower lip in worry. "I thought I felt something," She shook her head, "I'm sorry I must have been wrong."

"That's ok, better to be safe than sorry." He let out a sigh. "Things are not always like this Inoue, there is normally a lot more time for fun, less dimension hopping and shadowy threats."

Her mouth twitched. "I don't know, it kind of feels like home when you put it that way."

Well, well, well, when had she learned how to joke? The absurdity of it set him to laughing.

"Well," He coughed and pounded his chest, "I guess that is true."

Asia sighed. "I like peace better."

"So do I." They both replied.

"What is your normal life like, Asia-chan?" Inoue inquired as she put the bread in the oven.

"School, club meetings where I get to help everyone, a few contracts, spending some time at the local clinic to heal those that I can, cleaning the house, playing with Akeneo, training with Ichigo." She smiled. "It's a paradise, there is so much to do, and it feels like there is so little time in the day, but everyday you wake up and smile because it is wonderful. It is a blessing and, even if I am his enemy, I still thank God for this life I have now." She paused, waiting. "That is the second time I have said His name and not gotten hurt."

"Um, is that was normally happens?" Inoue asked.

"Yes, I got a lot of headaches in the past month, but they have just stopped."

"Sounds like a gift," Ichigo said, not really focusing or even really meaning to say. "You should use it well."

"A gift?" The former nun's eyes welled up with tears. "A gift from him, perhaps."

Yes… that was what he was going to say, but he caught himself this time. " _What the hell is going on Zangetsu?_ " There was no answer on that and he forced himself to calm down.

Asia nodded as one might before a great battle. "I've decided, tonight I'm going to pray."

Somehow, he knew she would be safe in doing so, that something had been shifted about her, a protection or acknowledgment. No, that was not it, something closer to an exception made in a computer program. Like a file that had been cleared and set to be neutral, even when looked at by the virus protector. He shook his head again, this was starting to get creepy, he knew about things he could not have any way of knowing. Things he could not force himself to believe as anything but faith, or truth.

"That's wonderful, but if it might hurt you, may I be there and help you if it does?"

"Y-you would do that?"

"Of course, were going to be friends and that is what friends do."

Asia nodded happily. "I would be so grateful if you would help me."

Ichigo smiled to himself as he pushed the main dish into a different oven, it did his heart good to see those two getting along. To sense that they were forming a bond, a new strand layered over all the others, binding all of them tighter together, as family. Now that pattern of thought, at least, he knew the source of, but given that he was that source it had stopped feeling alien to his mind weeks ago. He, however, kept it all to himself, only throwing in a comment here and there as the girls got to know each other.

"Hey Sona." He said over communication.

"Yes?"

"I know this is a bit frivolous, but can the boy's and I go first with the baths, given that there are only three of us?"

"That sounds reasonable." She replied in a patient tone that told him to say no more on that matter and shut up.

"Understood." And he cut off the communication.

He let out a sigh and both girls asked him what was wrong. "I think," he confided, "I might be getting spoiled."

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He was grateful that neither of his temporary roommates had decided the bed was theirs, they got two cots and he and Nel kept the bed. Mori had done a good job of making sure the Arrancar was exhausted and ready to sleep. Ichigo had gone ahead and given her a bath when he had gone in with the other boys.

Now, as he settled into bed, Nel curling up against his body and closing her eyes, Issei and Kiba simply passed out. He too closed his eyes, but drew himself inward, and opened them again in his inner world. The first thing he noticed as he landed was that something had changed. Whereas before everything had been still, save for the falling water and darkness of the Evil Pieces, now a new wind had stirred. It blew from the east, soft and soothing, like it had always been there. His mind reached out and he found the source, his world twisted to obey his will moving him to it without actually moving him.

Ichigo stood on top of one of the buildings, the wind was strongest up here, but did not slow or impede him in anyway. It was now part of his inner world. His head tilted at the sight of who stood there. He almost took a step back as the figure turned to look at him, it wore a white mask with a red stripe down the middle with slits for eyes carved into it. Long crimson hair spilled arounds its small child sized frame. Violet eyes that remind him of Sona stared at him as the figure crouched. It wore clothing too big for it, all bunched up around its body making it impossible to get a proper idea of what this creature looked like. However none of that could compare with the huge nearly twenty foot wingspan of crystalline wings, empty of color akin to glass, but purer, more refined.

They spread wide and moved and sounded like normal wings, flapping once, bearing the child aloft a few feet above the ground. "Ooooo." It cooed at him.

"Uh, hi?" It made a confused sound at him its head tilting. "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Wwu..." It replied, though he thought it recognized the name. It's great crystalline wings moved as it gracefully flew around him, making more sounds as it studied his body from head to toe.

He waited for it to sate its curiosity, it did so for about five minutes before landing in front of him, its wings vanishing into motes that looked like starlight. Like he might with a stray animal he knelt so that he was at eye level with the being. "Are you part of me?"

Its head tilted again. "Oooo."

Well that was mostly a dumb question, but there had been that Masumune incident. Slowly he reached out his hand, the being watched it looking ready to spring away at the slightest twitch. He stopped it half way and waited, the being made more unintelligible sounds as it stared at his outstretched hand.

He refused to move even an inch, keeping his stare calm, his smile inviting. Even when he blinked he did so slowly, the being began to move forward ever so slowly. Its hand rose up to touch the palm of his hand it's small fingers feeling the rough calluses of his skin. He took a risk and slowly moved his thumb to run over her small smooth fingers. It did make her freeze to watch the action, but she did not pull away.

Now that they were touching directly he closed his eyes and reached out his senses confirming what he already suspected. "Your my Inner Devil" He said gently. Her eyes so much like Sona's looked up at him. "Do you have a name?" No answer. "Do you want a name?" That got a response, the eyes focused on him with so much hunger that it scared him. So much desire pressed into a single gaze, he forced himself to think though what he was about to say. One of the many things Zangetsu had taught him was the Power in a Name. "You are," He said, "Tsukiko, the moon child"

There was a sound, something he had never heard before, but also something that felt utterly familiar, and the crystal wings shot out of the creatures back and it flew up with two powerful beats. Looking down at him it gently pushed its mask to the side, the object moving off her skin and into the wild locks of her hair. She had Sona's nose, Rias's lips and structure, its long robes seemed to come alive with silver flickers of light.

"That is a good name." Ichigo was not surprised to hear Zangetsu beside him. Tsukiko smiled at both of them before her wings began to beat with gale force, diving between buildings looking, for all the world, to be playing.

"Now that she has a name she will mature faster, and thus your control over your Devil Power will mature."

"When did this happen?"

"When you first used Bankai, we were able to retrieve and release your Devil Power."

"Oh...thanks." Ichigo glanced at Zangetsu's golden pauldron, noting that the chain was gone "What happened to you and what the hell is happening to me?"

The old man looked pensive. "I don't know, at first I thought I was a vessel or a doorway, but now that the chain is gone and I am still a Sacred Gear I am not so sure." He held up a thin strong hand. "I wonder what my power is as a Sacred Gear? It's rather fascinating and fun to have something new to learn about myself."

"Hold on, a doorway for what?"

The old man gave him a look. "Surly you have some ideas, the King of Quincies spelled it out for you."

"All he said was that I was the pawn of a dead God, I don't know what that means? Which dead god? Can Gods actually die and why in the hell is one of them using me as a pawn when it is freaking dead?"

"Ah, I see your point, to answer that second question you work with souls, you fight hollows, know of Shinigami, the living and the dead are closer and much more complicated than black and white. As for which particular God we are discussing," the Zanpakuto gave a pensive glance skyward, "He was a creature with an unsuppressed Almighty."

"Almighty?"

"Not just an Almighty, The Almighty, the first, the most powerful, a force that surpassed even what the King of Quincy and the King of Soul's hold. For they only hold vison over the future, the Dead God… The White God, could see the past, the present, and the future. The White God could change the past to some degree, the present to a great degree, and the future well, as far as the Qunicy's can find out he had his hands in most events even before he made his Church."

"Hold up, the White God, do you mean the God of the Bible?"

"Yes."

"He's dead?"

"Sort of."

"What does that even mean?"

Zangetsu let out a sigh and tapped his gold pauldron, he gestured to the wings of Tsukiko, he pointed at the gold chain of the blade Ichigo had on his back, and image of his Hollow appeared in his mind's eye and Ichigo noted the gold belt.

"Some of that being is in you, in your Soul."

"WHAT!" he blinked rapidly feeling a sense an oncoming panic. "All those times I have been sure or I felt something, that was not mine?"

"I assume he is aware of all that goes on around you, after all, you hold a fragment of his Divinity."

Ichigo closed his eyes and just sort of fell back on his ass. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"You did not ask." Zangetsu shrugged. "As far as I can tell, it entered you when you were reincarnated. We know now that Devil's, in the end, were angels, his creation. And you are an utterly unique case, the only case that could be a vessel for his Power and not be destroyed or overcome by it." It was the tone of his voice that clued Ichigo in.

"The Almighty."

"Yes, for some reason he drained himself, though for what I..." They were cut off as a flash of memory invaded both their minds. A vast beast sleeping, the head of a Lion, Leopard, a Goat and a Bear. The Shem of Babel, the creation of the first men, a weapon to end the age of the Gods.

Vast pity, and sorrow were the emotions he felt while looking upon this creature, humankind united in a Gestalt, the entire race of man focused as one, all minds, all wills to the betterment of their race. He had watched them struggle with the temptation for good and evil, watching every future but not guiding them. Free will was there for a reason, and so he had watched, waited until their future was blotted out of his sight. That was the birth of this monster, the Shem, the Name, the God of Babel. The greatest of men, poisoned by jealousy at the immortality of the Gods, determined to bring them to heel and take it for their own.

And so He had come with his host of Heaven, and fell on Babel, scattering its people to the four winds, removing the single unifying language of humankind so that they might never discover what had been lost, what had been made by their hands.

What followed through the vastness of time was his duty evermore, returning again and again, layering his power over the beast, sealing it and leaving, returning and sealing it, for no seal would last forever on the beast. And as time moved along by mortal standards, slowly, ever so slowly his Almighty overcame the protection of the beast and at long last, on the eve of the greatest war the Biblical faction had ever known he saw it. He saw the end, the ends, the endless endings of the World at the hands of that monster. He saw the end of this reality over and over again, but within that vastness a single future, one that even now he could not see all the twists and turns of, all that would be required, but he knew where it started. And so he turned all his power upon the beast, keeping only enough that he might tip the balance of the war, even at the cost of his own life. His sacrifice would be the first, given freely so that this single future could come to pass, the future that would see the Rebirth of a Guardian with his Hidden Flame.

Ichigo let out a gasp. "Shem, the Name, the summary of the whole of a people."

"Limited vision, he knows the possible end, but only the steps that are required when almost upon him." Zangetsu gasped as both he and his Master fought their way out of that vision.

"What the fuck?" Ichigo just sort of fell onto his back and, somewhat to his amusement, so did the old man.

"Does he talk to you like that?"

"That was not speech, he had only done that once and that was to Asia though your lips."

"Where is he in my soul?" Ichigo asked.

"Everywhere, nowhere, he is simply part it, connected, yet separate."

Ichigo's mind pulled out something from the vision, there had been so much that he could not even remember, a fraction of what they had seen beyond basic's. "He does not want to take over me, he needs me to make my own decisions."

The old man nodded. "You are the Guardian he foresaw."

He made a painful sound. "I have to fight that thing we saw?"

"I don't know and neither does he I think. But, honestly, you would fight the End of the World, we both know that, we are both are same person really."

"I think I'm going to keep this Divinity stuff to myself." Ichigo decided. "Honestly this is one hell of a universal curve ball to the nuts."

"True, you are an important cog in the future the White God desires, but I do not think you are the only cog." Those words…. They did have comfort. He would not have to stand alone, his mind conjured the image of the beast and he shivered. Even in the memory of a memory he knew, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that thing was the most dangerous creature he could ever have the displeasure of seeing.

"Zangetsu," He forced himself to focus, "Would you mind guarding the house tonight?"

The old man gave him a look, it was almost reproachful but... "As you wish."

With that Ichigo pulled himself out of his inner world. Glancing at the clock he had been out for about thirty seconds, but in that time his skin had gone cold and clammy, and sweat clung to his forehead like slime. Slowly on shaky legs he got out of bed, drawing Zangetsu from himself into corporeal from. The Zanpakuto nodded at him and glided out of the room, moving up to stand on the roof, specifically the weather vein, because of course he would. Ichigo half stumbled into the shower and flicked on the hot water, letting it run over him. He used that sensation to force his breathing under control. He clenched his fist, nothing had really changed, he would do as he had always done, it was just that now he knew what the stakes were.

He wasn't supposed to live his life only for the fight to come, he knew that, he knew such a focus would not bring about that one shining future. He paused to consider that thought, recognizing it as one not his own, but at least knowing whose it was. However, he was going to be upping his training, move the week at a time study with Aizen to a month at a time. Master only wanted him once a week so that could stay the same… he would need to keep working with his Peerage mates to get them stronger too. If he was a cog in this battle then so were they. Lastly he would need to work with someone to get his Devil Power under control. He had been willing to wait on that, but now with what he had seen that was not an option.

A feeling of warning flooded him. "Don't worry," he said aloud, "I will still live my life, I will still love those I love, go to school, and have fun. I don't want to go crazy, somehow I doubt that would help."

Agreement

He pressed his head against the shower wall. Strength was returning to his body, his will relighting as he accepted what he had seen and moved forward. "Well, let me deal with this crisis first… we have time right?"

Agreement.

He tilted his head. "A lot of time?"

Agreement

Well that was something at least, to keep the nightmares away… not that he had dreams of his own anymore, it was school with Aizen then a quick flashback into the life of a boy he did not know, nor have any idea why he was seeing it… well, at least his life was good enough that he did not need wet dreams anymore.

Ichigo flinched at that thought waiting to see if it got a response, when nothing happened he let out a sigh and stuck his head under the water. A quick shower then it was time for him to go to work, he had to wonder what Aizen had in store for him tonight?

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 **T-Biggz**

 **It is stated that Orihime and Chad received their powers from Hollows but we can all assume that it's due to Ichigo's spiritual power leaking out in the manner it does that they evolved in the way that happened so why aren't they marked in his soul sky like Sona and Rias are?**

 _ **To the first part, people just did not know it was from Ichigo in this universe. And Second part, Orihime has not been around Ichigo the devil long enough for that to happen. Plus its a bit slower for her since she has spiritual power of her own now.**_

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 **B.I**

" **no better represented visibly then by his Hollow."...**

 **I wish you would stop referring to his Zanpaktou as a hollow, a hollow is a being with a different soul(s). Call it his Zanpaktou.**

 _ **Ichigo does not know that yet, no one has told him. Or at least told him in a way he would understand. Remember most of this story is done using his perspective so he had no idea White is his Zanpaktou.**_

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 **TheB**

 **Vasco fucking Strada? Now THAT is a proper response from the church to the Excalibur theft!**

 **Not sending some low rank wet behind the ears exorcists to (possibly) fight a cadre.**

 _ **You know you are absolutely correct, would it not make sense to send in your best against a person on the level of a god rather than two pieces of harem bait. Sigh, one can interpret it several ways in story, (Out of story I don't think the author made the character yet) but in story either the church is moranic (Possible) or this is the work once again of people in the church working against the church's interest.**_

" _ **Retrieve the Excliabur you say, why we will send our best and brightest young exorcists to get it back"**_

" _ **What about our best and oldest?"**_

" _ **Shut up"**_

 _ **Anyway to clarify he is here with a target for extermination, and I think you will all understand soon what route I have taken with the church responce to the theft.**_

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 **HolyKnight5**

 **Between the Riser Game, and the show against Sona's Dad, it's at this point confirmed that the Devils have in Kuoh at least 3 Ultimate Ranked Devils, the original suggestion of sending two rookies like Irina and Xenovia alone would be shot down** _ **.**_

 _ **As I said at the start of the chapter the church does not know about Sona and Rias.**_

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 _ **Comment of the week**_

 **Burner**

 **. Good closure to this arc, the scenes between Sona and her mom were very well done, by the way is the phrase "need to kill Thor" some reference to*********** _ **(redacted but you know what your wrote)**_

 **Orihime and Serafall continue to have the best relationship ever, also highly hyped about the travel to Karakura, please update when you can**

 _ **All I can say is good job and thank you for your compliment.**_


	34. Chapter 33

**Yay, new chapter and thank you to Aroneden for the proof read.**

 **Real quick note to some who might not know Cardenal Vasco Strada is a real dxd character and not my OC. Just in case people were confused, you can find him on the dxd wiki to get a sense of who he is.**

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"I get it Aizen," Ichigo thought at the man, "I really do, forcing my mind past distractions to strain it and gain a greater focus. I know, it works, I have seen the results…. But is making a mental figment of Rangiku sit in my lap really necessary?"

That drew out a chuckle from the man. "When it stops working on you I will move on to the next thing."

"But we are just sitting here having a conversation."

"While I am having you hold your focus, yes. Besides, you don't seem too much against it." Ichigo growled at the man. "I must say a month of work can get quite a lot done." Aizen gave him a thoughtful look. "I assume something has happened?"

The debate of whether to say anything was growing shorter and shorter every day he spent with the man. So far none of what had passed between them had been used aginst him…well except for his stupid libido, which he felt Aizen took way to much sadistic pleasure in messing with.

"Not something that has happened, something that will happen."

"Oh? Knowledge of the future that is always fun."

Ichigo sighed. "Not so much knowledge as a warning, and because the world hates me, I am supposed to be in the middle of what is to come."

"The world is alive, but I doubt it hates you, but you know that dont you." Ichigo looked away. "With great power comes duty, whether to a God, a people, an ideal or all of the above. Those born with greatness have a duty to live up to that greatness."

'And what did you want to achieve?' He wanted to say, but held his tongue. He needn't have bothered, Aizen read him like an open book. "I was trying to save Soul Society."

"How?"

"By becoming its God, with a will to act. Do not forget that I have seen my people at every level, good, bad, poor, rich, powerful, weak. As we are now I would give Soul Society another thousand years or so before it collapses under its own weight and isolationism." He shook his head. "But enough on that. I lost, Soul Society won, perhaps I am wrong, but that hardly matters anymore."

"Why didn't you..." Ichigo felt at a loss for words.

"Change things from within the system? I tired, manipulation, blackmail, appealing to virtue, working with the lowest, the highest, all of that I tried. When even the military refused to bend, the only option left was the break it from without, to cast aside the old as those who formed the Soul Society did and make something new."

"They did that by killing a god."

"And I would have done it, to set a god free from a living death." Aizen went quiet for several long moments. "You still have a question?"

"Do you know enough to teach me the sword?"

"In that regard you are better than I, what I could show you would only hinder."

"You are the third person that has said that."

Aizen laughed. "Then keep searching Ichigo Kurosaki, if you have one _true_ superpower it is persistence in the face of all that should deny you." The blackness around them began to crack, the figment of Rangiku vanishing. "Well, that month has been the best time I have had since I was strapped to this chair, thank you for the conversation Kurosaki."

It did not sting as much as it might have when Ichigo answered. "Thank you for the teaching."

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One very cold shower later, Ichigo exited the guest house just before the sun started to rise and Zangetsu landed beside him in an almost silent leap. "Anything?"

"Three separate people did come within feet of the barrier, but none of them did anymore than that." Without another word Zangetsu returned to being within him. Guess the old man did not like being outside of his home for too long. Ichigo did not have as long as he would have liked for morning training, but he needed to make a whole lot of flavored rice, toast and eggs for the army that was going to wake up in a few hours. So he popped his neck, took some time to stretch out his body and got to work.

Time went by fast as it tended to do when he was focusing. Before long he returned to his room for a warm shower, followed by a trip to the kitchen to start making breakfast. He got his timing mostly right, having almost finished the eggs when the first person arrived in the kitchen. Most of both peerages were awake and moving. Sona must have had a light night if she was only now getting out of bed. But he was not at all surprised to see Inoue walk through the door. Big pink bunny slippers, a white and blue plaid sleep pants, and a rather tight but comfortable looking pink sleep shirt.

"Morning Kurosaki-kun."

"Morning Inoue."

Right after her Asia wandered in wearing a full satin pink set, with long sleeves and… hmm she had those pink bunny slippers to. She looked around. " Oh, you're already cooking."

"Aww we were gonna help." Inoue sighed

"If you want to set the table and make the drinks, I would be really grateful."

"We can do that, right Asia?"

"Yes."

He kept an eye on them as he finished up the eggs, Asia whispered something to Inoue and the girl smiled and nodded. They worked in an easy tandem and, at least in Ichigio's mind, were both so similar to each other it was no surprise at all they got along.

"You both ready for school today?"

"Yep." Inoue nodded. "I did all my homework, I practiced making my barrier faster last night."

"Which was really cool." Asia.

"Not as cool as you throwing around healing balls."

"They aren't that good yet, I cant heal very much with them yet."

"But you are working on it, I saw how late you were up practicing, it was inspiring."

"Hmm," Ichigo smiled at the former nun, "That is very good, I'm proud you Asia."

"Well Inoue-san was practicing too, besides barriers she was running really fast."

"I'm still hitting a few walls," The girl said with a blush, "I never thought I would be able to go fast, and it's kind of hard to get used to."

"I could help you with that if you want, I mean you are part of our group training, so make sure to tell me what you want to work on."

"Ok, though I don't want to take away from everyone."

Of course she would not. "Then we will find some time alone." When he turned around to carry the food to the table Inoue had a smile of pure bliss on her face. Asia just looked happy for her, though she did turn her gaze on him. "After all this is done are we still… going on that date?" She said the last part really quietly.

"I was planning on doing that this week, but I think it will be best to wait until the threat is over." He pursed his lips. "Unless you two want to dine in, I could see what I could whip up."

"Oh, oh I'll bet Akeno would be more than happy to cook something." He hesitated, as that did not sound like a date if the girl had to work. "I'll bring it up and see what she says."

Well, guess that was that, just needed to make sure they knew it was an idea, not his go to plan. His thoughts were interrupted by a rumble as more than a dozen feet began to move to the kitchen.

"Well, here they come." He said to the girls. "Let's get this place finished up."

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It might have looked odd to some, with both peerages moving in a protective group, but honestly it felt more like a herd. They felt relatively safe, though given how Kiba had been manhandled that was not a complete feeling.

'Something got you on edge?' Rias Gremory settled in beside him. She had not said the words aloud, rather through a personal communication link.

'I had a bad night, did not help the fact that we are all on edge.'

'Do you need to share with someone?'

He could not share all… that was something he did not know how Devil-kind would react to… or the Angels, in fact they might be worse.

'Just dreams of doom, of work not done, and anger unseen.'

'Ah one of those, when dreams like that happen to me I eat Ice-cream and watch Anime naked, it helps.'

"Naked, huh?"

'Butt Naked.'

'I wonder if you and Sona sleep the same way?'

'Oh we do,' Her voice was very suggestive, 'And both of us are very clingy, so you can imagine what kind of positions we ended up in.'

'Are all you Devil women so evil?'

'Only the ones who are worth it Ichi-chan.'

'Don't call me that, I can't stop Serafall, but I can damn well stop you.'

Rias laughed aloud causing everyone to glance at her. 'You can at that.' She agreed before speaking aloud. "Feel better?"

"I do thank you."

"Private communication is not fair." Koneko shook her fist at her King.

"No, no, Koneko-chan," Akeno smiled, "It's all fair, you just have to learn how to do it." Her voice shifted into his head. 'So what dirty thoughts has Buchou been putting in here?'

The two other Rooks from both Peerages glared at everyone with magical talent and on that mutual thought they claimed both of his hands for themselves.

Issei gave an uncomfortable cough as Momo winked at Ruruko and took his hand. He looked very happy and very nervous. "Um, Buchou I just got a contract again tonight, I wanted to run that by you to make sure it is ok?"

Rias gave him a pensive face. "Koneko?" The Rook glanced over at her King and nodded. "Yes, though you will take Koneko with you and be ready to run and call us for help if something happens, yes?"

"Oh you," Issei shook his head, "I don't like being killed."

Ichigo almost laughed at the statement, the dark humor he could understand all too well. Then he felt it, a pulse of pure Divine power. Both felt as familiar as, as well, something of his, something he had made. Information was just appearing in his mind. A weapon of immense power gifted to mankind so that they might safeguard themselves. Forged by his own hand, charged by his own will, a weapon of a King, a promise of victory. But the weapons had been broken, split, before him were the shard of mimic, that one might create the weapon they desired, and the shard of destruction, that one might smite the enemies of man.

Ichigo's eyes snapped up and around watching as two cloaked figures stepped out in front of them. He almost attacked them right there, a blur of speed and ferocity to end the threat they posed. "Holy swords." Sona whispered and every one of them went from school mode to battle in the space of a heartbeat. Well, all except for Orihime, but it was _hard_ to make her go into battle mode.

Both figures had their hands out and away from the covered weapons on their backs. Both stopped twenty feet away from the group. "Ah, it's Issei-Kun!" One of them said.

Said boy blinked from where he stood, protectively in front of Ruruka and Momo. "Uh, hi?"

The voice was that of a girl, and the one who had spoken pulled back her hood, to reveal a striking girl, odd violet eyes long chestnut brown hair tied back in twintails, the rest of her was hidden beneath her bulky robes. "Its good to see you again, even with these circumstances."

"Do I know you?"

"Aww," she said with disappointed cheer, "Ya, you have not seen me in a while I guess and I was rather boyish at the time. It's me, Irina Shidou. Tell me at least you remember my name?"

"Wait," Issei looked like he was thinking really hard. "Shidou… you're a girl?"

"Yep, the breast fairy visited and everything."

That word distracted the boy for a moment, but since she was all robed up it was almost unnoticeable. "You're Shidou, my friend when we were little?"

"Indeed," Kiba said, his voice filled with menace, "The one who had the holy sword." Rias shut him up with a stern look.

"You're an exorcist?"

"And your a devil, funny how God works."

"Well, while this is quite touching," Sona said calmly, "May I ask what two agents of the Church are doing here, on my campus?"

The other one gave her a nod. "We seek a meeting with the Gremory heiress, in an effort to avoid misunderstandings while we are here."

Sona did not show it but, that annoyed her, the dismissal of the Sitri family from whatever equation the exorcist was running… well, such underestimation could get someone killed. She shared a look with Rias, no doubt rapid communication via thought speeding between them. "After which you will leave this campus?"

"Yes." The second exorcist removed her hood, revealing a rather odd hair color combination, solid blue hair with a green dyed fringe cut to chin length. Her expression was one of cold hard calm, but you could feel the battlelust oozing about her like a stench, he could feel his Hollow take note, it was so prevalent. Her eyes were dark yellow pools, high cheekbones and a sharp chin gave her certain countinance, enough to make one wary. "I am Xenoiva Quarta, the one in charge of this… diplomacy. Could we please move this indoors?"

Both Kings nodded and Sona took her peerage, minus him, and went about moving the students who had stopped to stare at the strange women. Rias led them all away and the two Exorcist followed her closely, seeming not to care that the entirety of the Gremory Peerage was flanking them. Ichigo made sure to put his body between the two and Kiba, who was staring at the weapons on their backs with such hate it was palpable.

That settled it then, they were the shards of Excalibur. He felt he knew that already but real world conformation was always nice. They all settled into the main room of the ORC, Rias on the couch alone, the two exorcists on the other. Akeno served tea and Rias took her time to get a good sip in before crossing her arms under her impressive chest and asking. "For what reason do the servants of God desire to meet a Devil?"

"As if you do not know?" Xenoiva asked. "Perhaps it has not reached here yet but it will, three fragments of the blade Excalibur were stolen by the Fallen." Only Ichigo remained motionless, the other's reacting in shock or in Kiba's case very, very close attention.

"And you two hold a fragment of it as well." Ichigo said aloud.

For the first time the exorcist seemed to take a good look at him. "Yes the ones we have here are Excalibur Destruction and Excalibur Mimic."

"Hey, that's my line." Irina said with a pout. "It's my sword." Ichigo could see why they told them, it was a warning that, even though under this truce, they could and would fight and kill as needed.

"So then," Rias took another sip, "What do you want from me?"

"This particular incident is between us and the Fallen Angels, and we cannot afford to deal with the Devils of this area at the same time."

"My, my, aren't you two honest little things." Akeno said, amused.

"Now, now Akeno," Rais said easily, "This is also a warning." She met Xenovia's gaze. "You thought we might be assisting the Fallen?"

"Devils hate the Holy Blades, in many ways you are in the same position as the Fallen Angels. If this is the case then we will destroy you utterly, even knowing who your brother is."

Ribbons of Destruction began to dance though Buchou's hair, her eyes glowing a solid red. There was a sort of pleasure in seeing both Exorcists realize something was wrong. Ichigo doubted the Church was aware of the changes she and Sona had gone through in recent times. "If you know that much then let me assure you, that as it stands now I will never side with the fallen, nor will I do anything to humiliate the Maou. You have my word on that in the name of Gremory."

Xenovia smiled. "I am glad to hear that, this was what our order was hoping would be the case, given who you were they hoped you would not do something so foolish."

"Then you must know I will never side with your God or your Church, right?" Ichigo felt amusement flare through him and at least now he knew why. He wondered why the exorcists had not drawn any emotion out of the being inside him.

"Of course, we simply ask for a pledge of non intervention in this ordeal."

"On that I will have no issue, so long as you tell the other Exorcist to leave this city. He has already attacked one of mine, thus making the Idea of a truce rather pointless."

Both girls blinked, Irina glancing at Xenovia who was doing her best to remain unreadable, but there was surprise there. "As far as I am aware," she said gently, "We are the only two dispatched, we were assured of this."

"My Knight was attacked by a man matching this description." Rias unfolded a piece of paper where it looked like either she or Sona, perhaps both, had drawn a composite sketch of Kiba's attacker. It has been strengthened by magic to give the drawing a more life-like quality. Not that it seemed to matter, both Exorcists took one look at the picture and this time did not bother to hide their surprise. "The Violence of Heaven." Irina whispered.

With a title like that Ichigo's warning bells tolled like mad, Xenovia looked up at them. "You say he attacked one of you and he lived?"

Rias glanced back at Kiba, but the boy looked so lost in restrained hate she decided to speak for him. "He said he had a target and my Knight was not it."

Both girls glanced at each other again. "This development which we spoke of is a recent one, but neither I nor her have any authority over this man." She ran her fingers over the covered blade. "We will try and speak to him, however. I am sure he will be willing to help with a situation as grave as this."

"Very good," Rias replied evenly, "Once you have that, please call me at this number," Akeno handed them a literal calling card, "And we can finalize the truce."

Clearly that was not what either of them had hoped for, but given the surprise they knew it was the best they could get right now. "Thank you for your time then, we will take our leave." Both stood up and turned to leave. But Xenovia paused as she took full notice of another Devil in the room. "You?" Asia, who had her eyes lowered for most of what had transpired, glanced up, nerves written clear on her face. "I know you." Asia took a step back.

Irina tilted her head. "Hey, that's Asia Argento right?"

Xenova gave a slight nod. "I never thought I would see a witch here."

The word hit her hard, her eyes going very wide as she lowered her gaze. "Oh ya, the ex saint who became a witch and now I guess she is a Devil." Somehow that cheer Irina seemed to have made her words all the more irritating. "I heard you were excommunicated because you healed a devil, I just had not heard you became one yourself." She looked around. "Is the one you healed here?"

Every word seemed like a blow to Asia's soul, Ichigo felt anger rise in his gut. From where she stood Akeneo, well she had stopped smiling, her eyes were closed, but deep in her core he could feel the thunder starting to form. Issei was looking from Asia to Xenovia and Irina, anger starting to from on his face as well. He might not fully understand what was happening, but he could see it was hurting one of his friends.

"I..." Asia whispered, her voice quivering.

Xenovia shook her head. "To think that a Saint would become a Devil." A hint of amusement touched her face. "I guess no one is perfect." The words drew an almost sobbing breath from the former nun.

"Hey, that's enough." Issei growled, but Koneko put a hand on his chest to stop him from moving forward. Rias clearly did not want a fight here and her Rook responded to that, even though Ichigo could sense her own mounting anger.

Xenovia ignored him. "Do you still believe in God, Asia Argento?"

"Xenovia, she is a Devil." Irina chided.

"It can happen," she replied, 'Some blasphemers feel some guilt and retain a little of their Faith and I can sense that in her, she made the sign of the cross when we entered after all." Asia flinched even more at that.

"Really?" Irina said, not sounding as if she believed it. "Hey, Asia-san do you still believe in the Lord even though you're a Devil?"

Aisa seemed lost in a trance of pain, her eyes downcast, her body shaking. "Of course I believe in him." She whispered.

"In that case let us kill you now," Xenovia said it like it was the most logical thing in the world. There was a stunned silence as no one reacted with anything more than shock. "I will punish you in God's place and your sins will be for..." Her mouth snapped shut as the air was driven out of her lungs, Irina behind her nearly went to her knees as what felt like a vast weight fell upon them like a lead blanket. Xenovia had the worst as her eyes bulged and she fell to one knee. "Ichigo!" Rias snaped.

He let the power, the weight, of his Soul crash down upon the two for a second more before reigning in his wrath. It has been so long since he dealt with people that could be affected by his spiritual power in any direct sense that was not straight energy attacks. These two were powerful, they had powerful weapons, and if they had been holding those weapons then he would not have been able to do what he just did. Hell, perhaps if the metal was actually touching their skin the protection of the Sword would have been enough. But they had not and could not have been prepared to have their very soul's crushed into the earth.

"I remind you that we are under no truce as of now," Rias continued once the two could breathe again, "I would suggest you refrain from threatening to harm any of my Peerage, you might not find us so easy to kill as you seem to believe."

The Exorcists took in a few breaths. "Just doing my duty as a woman of the Faith."

"Faith." Akeno repeated that word with such venom it brought them all up short. "You come here, you call her a witch because of what your Church did?"

The girl was looking around the room, clearly trying to find the source of what had attacked her. Ichigo found a very feeble sort of spiritual awareness pass over and stop on him. Xenovia gave him a long hard glare before focusing on the Queen. "It is a term that covers her status well, I think."

"That does so sound like the Church. You did what we told you was Holy work, you healed the sick, tended the dying. Oops, oh dear you healed a Devil. Now, I know we did not tell you actual facts about Devil's, but the fact that you did so is an unforgivable Sin." Every word dripping with sarcasm. "Now, I know all your life has been spent with us, in service to our God, I know you have no experience with making it on your own, nor are we going to help you at all, but get out. We don't want you and your kindness, your decency, you moral code." She gave the exorcist such a scornful look that the girl took a step back. "Yes, oh so holy and righteous you are to have done that. You people who named her a Saint, you people who cast her out, who told her that your God's love was denied to her so long as she lived."

Akeno had not moved from her spot, her voice had not risen up or lowered her eyes had not wavered. It was the most scary he had ever seen her in his life. "Your Church cast out a loyal servant in the cold and now _dare_ to have the arrogance to judge her?"

Issei took a step forward unable to contain himself. "She is our friend," He nodded at Akeno, "And you are not allowed to threaten her."

Ichigo's mouth twitched. "You would be dead if you tried."

Xenovia looked around at all of them. "What are you to her?"

"Lover." Akneo said.

"Friend." Issei said.

"Sister." Koneko replied.

"Guardian." Ichigo said.

"Family." Rias finished.

Asia rubbed her eyes, tears leaking down her skin at these words, the exorcists both looked stunned, confused even. "Make sure to tell all of them," Issei whispered, "Every last person who thinks like you, if you try and harm her we will destroy you." He paused for a moment. "And by we, I mean mostly those two." He pointed at Ichigo and Akeno. "I'm working on becoming as scary, but I would be right there to help, you damn well be sure of that."

"You would challenge the whole Church over a heretic?"

Issei glared at her. "I would challenge the whole world."

"And he would not be alone." Ichigo added, the feeling of pride at the boy he had been teaching swelling up to a decent level.

"Well, since you already have attacked us once like a coward," Xenova was staring at him, "Perhaps you would like to back up those words." Rias put her hand over her face.

"Yes and we will be your opponents." They all glanced at Kiba who had a hungry look on his face.

"And who are you?"

"Your senior." He hissed.

Rias made a growling sound. "That does it, punishments for everyone when this mess is over."

"Well then, Sempai," Xenovia nodded, "How about a little spar, one with no death or heavy injury, keep everything all nice and neat." She glanced at Rias. "Get this out of our systems, what do you say?"

"How many spankings is enough to make a point?" Rias mumbled, waving her hand in assent.

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"So, uh, any reason I'm fighting and not you?" Issei asked as he and Kiba stretched out their bodies.

"I thought you did pretty good back there, I know Akeno was impressed, and so was I." Asia had even given him a chaste kiss on the cheek and a hug. "I think you should prove to all of us that you can back up your words."

"Ya and you get to keep your abilities a secret." Issei mumbled.

"Not as much as you might think." Ichigo was still pondering just what the Church might know about the Soul Reapers. "You have been doing well, since you started, and I'm going to guess you have been working without me on whatever your Sacred Gear is teaching you." There was a moment of hesitation before he nodded. "I'm worried about Kiba though, he just recovered from being beaten and…I don't think I have ever seen him so angry. He does not fight angry, he is calm, he thinks, he.." Issei shook his head. "I don't know if he will be as good?"

Ichigo glanced over at the Knight, he had nodded, having heard Issei, but his eyes were locked on the weapons the two exorcists. There was an almost fever-like intensity to them, his body was taut as a guitar string and his breathing was erratic. "Revenge," Ichigo whispered, "Were I in his place I doubt that I could do any better."

Issei nodded. "I know, but unlike you two, I can hardly imagine it."

"Are you going to be ok, fighting a childhood friend?"

The boy's gaze moved to Irina and she smiled and waved. The gesture somewhat awkward with the black Katana in her hand. Almost on reflex Issei waved back.

"I think I'll be fine, we did not really have any contact after she moved, at least I know why that is now. And she is going to fight me with all her skill, she put one hundred percent into everything, even when we were little." A small smile touched his lips. "Besides, I'm a Devil now, so a small little spell I have might be quite fun to use."

Ichigo almost laughed which in his mind clearly showed how far he had fallen. "Speaking of that spell, have you made it work on anything else."

Issei sighed. "Yes, I made it work on my clothing so I assume it can do the same to others, and as for the armor, well I don't know where to find any of that to practice on so, I don't know."

Well, at least he was making progress, both of them watched as the exorcists shed their heavy cloaks. Ichigo had to blink twice to make sure he knew what he was seeing, somehow when one thought of operatives of the Church, a skin tight black bodysuit that left absolutely nothing to the imagination was not the first thing that came to mind… there was even some sort of symbol on where the fabric stretched over there abdomen...right about where his marks were. He decided to ignore the question as to why an Order of the Church would have that there, his own sanity depend on it.

Both girls wore that outfit and while it had not been noticeable before, both were quite comfortably stacked. Both had bodies honed to athletic perfection and Xenovia was clearly a bit bigger but… gods he was turning into Issei. Speaking of Issei, the boy was staring at Irina like this was the very first time he had seen her. "Wow." The boy whispered.

Kiba had no such issue as he formed a blade that looked quite fearsome, with half a dozen other swords forged already.

Thankfully Issei shook off his lust, no doubt the threat to Asia still leaving a bad taste in his mouth, as it did for all of them. Both sides looked upon on the other, waiting, but when Issei's gauntlet announced, "Boost!" that seemed to be the signal. Irina moved with… inhuman speed. It had to have been some magic that they had or some way they had made themselves more than human. Then again, their bodies had the Light element within them, perhaps that was something that helped. Issei reacted well, Ichigo had started using his Bankai during training, not because Issei could dodge him fully in Shaki, far from it, but it was reaching the point where he had to swing hard enough to hurt Issei badly if he wanted to make it a close shave. In Bankai his control over his speed was so fine-tuned that it just made things easier.

Issei might very well be having flashbacks as he sidestepped the blow. Irina spun, Excalibur Mimic flashing out, and Issei blocked it with his sacred gear. His arm hardly moved from the force and "What?" the exorcist asked.

"Boost!" The Gear replied.

Irina moved forward with a flurry of blows. "Oh Lord, why must I be reunited with my childhood friend only to see how far he has fallen? Why must you test me so?" Her expression was not one of sorrow, in fact it looked almost akin to sexual desire and was oddly disconcerting.

Issei rolled his eyes as the Gear Boosted again, weaving away from the sword blows with the skill born of countless hours of practise against a faster blade. He was clearly waiting for an opening and as Irina slowed to look him over again she tilted her head. "What's with that perverted look you're giving me?"

"It's a surprise, Irina-chan." That was a very good taunt, for his first attempt Ichigo thought..

"You should be careful," Koneko said, "Issei..." Ichigo put his hand on her shoulder.

"Please don't." She gave him a confused look, but after a moment of hesitation nodded.

"What was that Devil-chan?" Irina asked.

"Boost!" Issei let out a breath. "Focus, let the power flow throughout your body." Green light covered him. "Draw on that power, that devoured light." His eyes glowed with Devil Power. "Now show me what you did with his power, Ddraig!"

"Take Over, Reform, Welsh Dragon Aura Gauntlet!"

Issei's left arm glowed Quincy White before green power overwhelmed it and forced it into a new shape. Green light became semi-solid forming an almost holographic force over his left arm. Almost like an omni tool from the Mass Effect game, the energy hovered about an inch above his skin and there did not seem to be any fingers just a sphere of power. It was charged by Devil Power, but the devoured spiritual essence shifted it on a fundamental level.

Issei went on the attack, blocking a swing from the Excalibur with the Aura Gauntlet. It was there the fundamental change showed, had it been pure Devil Energy the Holy Blade would have cut through it like butter. Instead it was both Dragon and Shinigami, neither of which were affected overmuch. The attack was blocked and the place where it hit flared bright green. There was a concussive force that almost knocked the blade from Irina's hand. In her desire to keep hold of it she was not in any position to defend herself. "Boost!" The Red Dragon Gauntlet flared as Issei rammed it into her chest. "Explosion!"

She shot back and into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk, letting out a startled, pained gasp, sliding to the ground, her hand across her stomach. A red spell circle spun above the spot where Issei had hit. The boy's gaze slid to Asia then to Ichigo. He made sure he was showing nothing when the boy did so, what would come next was his own decision. "Dress Break." He murmured.

The circle flashed and so her clothing went up with it, her boobs suddenly free from there prison bounced free and open to the world. Issei's grin was almost manic as Irina screamed and tried to cover herself. Kind of hard as she had one hand across her body where Issei had struck her. Irina tried turning around, but realized that put her ass on display. "Not fair, not fair, you sinful Devil. Give me back my clothing Issei!" That last part came off more as a friend begging for help rather than an enemy. It snapped Issei out of his boob trance. "Um, I don't know how to do that." Asia made a keening sound and moved her hand in a wave gesture, a nun outfit shimmered into existence around Irina.

"Oh, thanks Witch-chan." Asia flinched.

Akeno's storming eyes pinned the exorcist to the ground. "You little bitch, perhaps this is more to your liking?" The clothing shimmered until it took the form of a school girl outfit that made Kuoh's look modest by comparison.

"What did I say?" Irina whined, Issei looked like he had just had his whole day made and Koneko sighed as she followed Issei's gaze. "Cover yourself, will you?"

Akeno had apparently not been kind enough to include panties with the outfit and the skirt only covered about half her butt cheeks. Irina made a sound of mortification and dropped to her knees to cover as much as possible, that was when Asia, looking upon her with utter kindness and decency, changed it back to a nun outfit.

"Oh, thanks Wi..." Akeno growled, "Asia-chan." Irina finished, gulping and scooting out of the way, closer to her fellow exorcist.

The fight between Kiba and Xenovia on the other hand was going… well, it was not going well for the Knight. He was more skilled than he might have been, his training with Zangetsu and Ichigo having honed his reflexes to a razor's edge. He used two blades, twisting a blur of strikes that, for a normal human, would have been death by a hundred cuts. Xenovia blocked them all, her long dark weapon glowing with the Power of Light and her physical strength exceeding that of her human body. "Weak." She said and shattered the Knight's weapons in a single strike.

Kiba leaped back and gripped two more blades and resumed his attack, his face a mask of rage. It was a foolish move, Xenovia had proven that her Excalibur Destruction combined with her physical strength were more than enough to break the weapons of Sword Birth. "Irina, did you lose?" She asked in a bored manner.

"Ya." The girl whimpered.

"Tonight you will have to do great penance." She broke one of the blades attacking her and met Kiba blade to blade and began to push him back. "Honestly, losing to a newbie Devil as a user of the Sword." She was doing this on purpose, they could all see Kiba Yuuto's breathing increase, his body dripping with sweat, his eyes burning red with hate.

"Shatter this." He snarled and summoned a great deal of his Devil Power and a new blade was born, long, thick, jagged, with dark steel at its core. "Your Holy Sword versus my weapon of vengeance." With a growl he surged forward and did so far slower than Ichigo had even seen him, perhaps he thought that given Xenovia's strength he just might be faster even with a weapon like that. The girl however met his dash, slipping aside his attack…she could have killed him right then and there could have been an argument that Kiba had been trying to do just that. But she simply rammed the hilt into his gut and the Power of the Holy Blade amplified the blow.

She took a step to the side and watched Kiba slide to the ground. "It does not matter how powerful your weapon is if you cannot use it, _Sempai_." She said that last word with all the scorn she had. "You have a variety of powerful swords and frighting agility, all of which you give up when you tried to use a blade that is too heavy for you." She turned away from him. "You should try getting your head screwed on right before you next fight, otherwise whatever it is you are trying to accomplish will fail." She walked over to her cloak and picked it up. "I think this is over, would you not agree, Rias Gremory?"

Rias responded with the poise expected from her position. "Yes, I do thank you for not killing my Knight."

"And I thank you for not killing my partner." She gave Issei a once over. "Don't let it go to your head though, I will make sure Irina will be much better prepared for next time." Turning back to Rias. "We will be counting on you for your cooperation once we get the last assurance we need." Irina moved next to her looking chagrined and Xenova favored her with a glare. "We will be off then."

"There is one thing I would like to know." Rias said, almost as if it was an afterthought. "Do you know which Fallen took the Holy Blades?"

"A leader of the Grigori, Kokabie,l was directly involved."

"Uh, Grigori?" Issei asked and Ichigo very much agreed with that question.

Akeno answered her expression neutral. "Also known as the Protectors of the Children of God, they are the main power within the Fallen Angel faction."

Rias was not listening to him, she had got somewhat pale. "You're going to fight something like that, alone. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Guess she knew what the name Kokabiel meant.

"We would rather destroy the weapons then let them rest in the hands of the Fallen, that alone is our goal." With those fitting words she turned away and started to move.

Irina let out a grateful sigh. "Sorry about the witch thing, Devil-chan." Asia seemed fine with that title. "However Issei, you will get divine punishment for what you did." The boy gulped as the overwhelming cheer in the girl's voice. "Perhaps I will be the one to bring it to you? Well, until then see ya!"

Kiba pushed himself up to his knees coughing up a handful of blood. "Wait!" He hissed.

Ichigo stared at the Knight feeling more conflicted than he ever had, knowing the story, understanding what was going on. Were he in the Knight's position would he act any differently? What the hell could he tell the boy that might be able to help him. Would getting revenge help? Perhaps or perhaps not? It hardly mattered at this point. Asia moved to him and her healing light began to mend the damage done, but the Knight's eyes never left the retreating exorcists. If his whole family was killed by someone, like say Soul Society, would he not extract a terrible vengeance upon them? He had seen where such a path would lead, in the depths of Hell watching a man whose sister had been murdered rage at the unfairness of the universe for putting him there.

Hell itself had given him power for a time as he came to the understanding that quite often the dead do not want vengeance. That the man's sister would not have wanted him to kill and kill again… yet he himself did not know or could not be sure what he would do. He would have liked to think he could be the bigger person, the better man, but honestly he did not know. Or rather, when he looked at Kiba he could see himself, something he could legitimately become.

Issei went over to the Knight and slipped under his arm to help him limp back to the Occult Clubhouse. Perhaps if the Church was still doing experiments such as that *Sadness, Anger, Sorrow* Ichigo trembled under the onslaught of emotions. Well, if that was the case he could make the argument that beyond vengeance stopping the harm being done to others was a noble goal. But would that be just some excuse for vengeance? If one followed a code during such a fight, could they remain pure or would it always damn them to Hell… well at least for the Soul's claimed by Soul Society. On that thought he moved to follow the rest of the Peerage back to the club house.

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"Oh Lord this water is freezing." Irina sighed as she cleaned her body with the sacred water of the pool. Around them the ancient church falling into ruin sheltered them from the outside, but very little else.

"Consider it part of our penance." Her partner said. "After all, we would be resting comfortably in a hotel warm and happy if someone had not spent all our money on a painting."

Irina winced. "But it's a very good painting, the person who did it must have been a Saint, that's what the man at the museum said."

"And what good will that do us when we are hungry, cold and homeless.. At full strength I give us a thirty percent chance that we will live through this." Her stomach made a growling sound. "As we are now even less so."

"Oh Xenovaia, the Lord will provide."

"God helps those who help themselves Irina."The blue haired girl put her head in her hands, "Why are you my partner?"

"Because we make the best team."

"Then the church is doomed." She sighed. A flash of cold water had her yelping in shock as her exposed nipples seemed to become ice chips.

"None of your gloom and doom." The culprit said, her hand on her well formed hips. "We will be fine." The words were belied by her own stomach started growling and that seemed to take some of the spirit out of her. There was another splash as she sat down in the water. "What are we going to do for food?"

"Well," A man's voice interrupted sending both girls diving for their weapons, "If you two would stop bathing in the Holy Water I might be able to help." How they missed him enter neither knew, he was a large hulking man who was kneeling in front of the Altar, his hands folded in prayer, his broad back to their nudity.

"You!" Xeonvia said with something approaching awe.

"You youngsters still remember an old man like me?"

Both girls pulled on their clothing as rapidly as possible as well as their cloaks as they were still wet and it was getting a bit cold. "The Violence of Heaven, the greatest exorcist to have ever lived, the one who defeated a Cadre of the Fallen and made them flee before him? Of course we know who you are."

The man stood up and sighed. "They only remember the violence, never anything else… was our Savior known for violence?" He shook his head and turned to face them was a smile. "It is good to see that God has chosen our new protectors. Though I will admit I have not seen others of our kind bathing in Holy Water."

"Are you here to help us?" Xenovia asked. "With you help we could move from destroying the Holy Swords to retrieving them."

Cardenal Vasco shook his head. "While that is something I would much prefer to be doing… something I should be doing," His tone spoke volumes of what he thought of whoever had given him orders, "I have been given a separate mission. One that I cannot deviate from." He put a gentle emphasis on those words and moved a large finger over his forehead. There was a light red mark almost like that of a crude bird.

"You have been Geassed?" The very thought made Xenovia feel ill, why would the greatest exorcist of the Church need any motivation to complete a mission.

"Indeed, however there is nothing that says I cannot offer a hand to fellow followers of our God, so long as it does not interfere with my mission. Besides, you sent a message to speak to me did you not?"

"Yes we did." Irina said cheerfully. "We are trying to keep the local Devils out of our business, Cardinal-san and we need you assurance that you mean them no harm so we can get it."

"Hmm, a wise move when your enemy is one such as Kokabiel. I approve of your tolerance, however I cannot give my word to such an action as it would conflict with my mission."

"What is your mission?" Irina asked

"Irina," Xenovia hissed, "It's probably top secret."

"A Saint has fallen to the ways of darkness, such a well known figure if used in the proper way by the Devil's she has fallen in with could do inumerable damage to the church. I have been sent to make sure that does not happen."

"The Witch." Xenovia nodded.

"Ah, Witch-chan." Irina said

Something about the way they seemed to accept his reasoning seemed to sadden the man. "I cannot help or offer assistance in any manner in such a way that might conflict with my mission and a truce with the local Devils would do so."

"Understood." Xeonva accepted with a nod. "Though, might I ask you to delay it until our mission is complete?"

"Well, I was not given a timeline," The Cardinal mused, "I see no reason to hurry things along and there is a chance that the conflict will weaken the local Devils so it even works with my mission."

The two girls let out sighs of relief, then sounds of embarrassment as there stomach growled. A real smile appeared on his face. "Come, come children, let's get you two something to eat."

"You don't have to Father," Xenovia said, face turning down, "It's our own fault we are in this state."

"Child if our Lord can give all the fish and bread to a crowd that they can eat, I can surely do so for two chlidren of God." He put a large hand on each of their heads, the thumb forming the sign of the cross on them before letting go. "Now, follow me."

Xenovia did as ordered and Irina run up beside the man to ask him questions, the fact that he was geassed still bothered her. In all her reading of the exploits of other exorcists there had only been one recording of when such a thing was used. The exorcist in question had been asked to do something he absolutely did not want to do. A job he had refused, in fact, the Order had subjected him to at Geass to make him follow though…so then what in the world would make the Violence of God, Cardinal Vasco Strata, the greatest exorcist to ever exist need to be bound to a task. Could the life of that witch Asia Argento mean something to him? Her need to die made perfect sense, she was just a sinner now and one dangerous to the Church. Surely this man knew all that, so perhaps she was wrong, perhaps he had done it so that nothing would be allowed to divert him from what needed to be done. And if she was alive after their mission she would offer her blade to help.

She forced herself to chuckle, honestly the Violence of Heaven hung up over a heretic, that was ridiculous… right?

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 **And so the new girls have showed up and one is a bit bitchy but all it will take is one mind shattering revelation and she will be fine...lol .  
**

 **Anyway I was not going to leave those two out of the story, and now you all know why the most powerful human in the world is in town...poor Asia, sweetness and innocence seem to draw the worst things the world has to offer.**

 **Not that Vasco has it any easier, that man is wasting as much time as possible, giveing warnings, not killing the devils he sees (Because the Geass only makes him have to kill one target). Doing everything he can in the hopes that he can be stopped, but the pieces are falling into place and we will have to see where this goes.**

 **I'm sure things can't get any worse thought.**

 ***fingers crossed behind back***

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 **ElementalMaster 16**

 **Do you mind if i ask you what Ichigo meant when he said he felt as if he was getting spoiled?**

 _ **He was talking about how the baths of the dxd upper cast are giant magic pools of awesome with a steam room and a dozen other luxuries. Showers might not really compare after that, right about now he uses them for the cold water to calm himself down and that's about it.**_

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 **Razmire**

 **Forgive me if I'm being (very) ignorant, but I have to ask, are Tsukiko and the Shem of Babel based off of anything, or did you create them?**

 _ **Don't worry about being ignorant, the word shem is an old hebrew word that means " Name, Fame or Reputation, or even Identity or Personality, Conscious Knowledge Of The Whole Of Creation" It was a term used to name God since man could not truly speak the name of god.**_

 _ **Anyway by putting that title on the beast of the end, it is implying that it is the sum of Babel, the whole of that civilization, its everything synthesized into one creature, one dream.**_

 _ **Roughly translated the shem of Babel means The Name of Bable, and since it was a word used to describe God, another way of putting it would be The God of Babel, created by the united race of humanity to end the age of the gods and take immortality unto themselves. Don't worry there will be more on them later though it might be a while.**_

 _ **As for the other one, while I am not the first to put new things In Ichigo's soul, I mostly made Tsukiko up, though the process of its creation and appearance are based off of the events in a book from the dresden files called Skin Game, where a spirit of intellect born from the mind of the most powerful wizard of his generation and the mind of a fallen angel gains its appearance from the Wizard's memories of the various women either in his life or that he had encountered before.**_

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 **WindborneWord**

 **Well Kokabiel is going to get his ass kicked, but Xenovia and Irina being sent was a calculated risk in Canon.**

 **They are both natural wielders of holy swords, Durandal and Excalibur respectively. In addition they were sent to draw out the other pieces that were stolen, but keep the other one they had safe completely with Vasco, and they were both relatively expendable at least according to their, since I doubt they were expecting Kokabiel to behind the theft.**

 _ **I might agree with that, but they informed Rias right off the bat who was behind the theft and Xenovia put their odds at thirty percent (Way to high of a percent, try three girl) So While I do get your argument and even agree that it is very possible they were as a sign of non agression, I still think it was a bad plan.**_

 _ **Thank you for this though, it has given me something to think about.**_

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 **Comment of the Week**

 **Guest**

 **This author's attitude towards women is schizophrenic**

 **...** _ **sorry I guess, I just write to have fun**_

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 **Real Comment of the Week**

 **Celebtil (Note this is just apart of this ones reviews, it is good insight into how I see this character)**

 **I love to see fanfics that portray Serafall as a real person with more that just big tits and childlike personality. Someone with good reason to be as damaged, and well, broken as someone who survived not one, but two wars, would be. I have a brother who is medically retired military and he has serious issues that haunt him forever, you see things in war you can't unsee. Most don't delve into this aspect of Serafall's personality and why she is so sort of co-dependent upon Sona. Sona helps keep her sane, her job helps keep her distracted, and her family helps keep her grounded. should anything threaten these she would prolly lose her shit, hard core!**


	35. Chapter 34

**Ok ok here is the next chapter the next should be out soon, I hope you all enjoy and thank you to Aroneden for there proof reading.**

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Ichigo barely noticed someone walking to his desk, his eyes were down going over lines of words without really taking them in. His mind was elsewhere and he knew it, trying to think, trying to justify. "You have been staring at that paper for the last thirty minutes," Sona said gently. He blinked up at her then back down at the paper, "So either you have taken an unhealthy interest in what our school swimsuits will be next year," She paused to smile at her own joke, "Or perhaps you would like to talk to someone…I can almost be without bias when you are involved."

They were the only ones in the Council Room… well, except for Tsubaki, but she, like Akneo, knew to at least pretend they were not listening. Ichigo drummed his fingers on the table in response, unsure of what to say. "Rias told me about what happened with Yuuto last night." If she meant effectively renouncing his position and becoming a stray so that he could chase down two girls who used weapons that could kill him in one attack… then yes, that was on his mind right now.

" _Yuuto you are my Knight you need to stay here."_

 _The boy looked back at her, his eyes distant and cold. "I'm Sorry Buchou." Was all he said before closing the door behind him._

"I don't know what to do? The right thing would be to go out, find him and drag him back," It sounded, and would be, easy, "But I get him, I get what is driving him, I understand his hate, if I were in his place I don't think I would be any different."

Sona rested her body against the desk beside him. "So, you would feel hypocritical for trying to stop him?"

That was a part of it, yes. "Not just that, I would be doing the same thing, if… I don't know, Soul Society wiped out my family for some reason. The only difference between Kiba and me is that I don't know if anyone could stop me and those who might be able to, would not."

"Would that not be a reason to stop him then, if he is not strong enough to take his vengeance, then why not?"

"How would that change my hypocrisy?"

"Does that matter?"

Of course it mattered. "Just because I have power does not mean I can use it to get whatever I want."

"And if Kiba dies because of this?" His fists clenched. "You need to ask yourself what is most important, if your morals and family are at a crossroads, which path will you walk or will you chose not to move. I don't have a good answer for you, my response if he was one of mine would be to hunt him down, stop him from getting himself killed, followed by a firm discipline session, which would then be followed up further by lots and lots of counselling. However, with someone like Yuuto-san, that has a very real chance of not working. So I might try and find someone who could talk to him at his level, who understood him."

"And what could I tell him, that 'Hey, I would do the same thing, but you should not do it because it's bad'?"

"Tell me Ichigo. That event happens, but say one your family survives, what do you do first?"

"You take care of them." He blinked and looked to her.

"What if you have a great many people who are your family, do you toss them aside for vengeance? Is that correct?"

"No." He repeated. She gave him a look and nodded. "What if I chose to help him, to make sure he survived this?"

Her mouth twitched. "Theoretically, when I found out about such a foolish action, there would be serious consequences. Such action is uncondoned, unsanctioned, and highly dangerous, even for someone with mitigating circumstances such as being in two Peerages and having to deal with that." Translation: you can do that, I will understand, I still might be disappointed and you will be punished for it.

This was the difference between Sona, his girlfriend, who understood that he needed to do something; he needed to help, that he would never forgive himself if he let one of his family die while doing nothing. And Sona, the King, who had to look at all of this through the eye of not only one who needed to do the best for the most she could, but as a future leader of her race.

She must have hoped that he would find something better than a simple head first charge at the problem, but despite knowing that, she had given him the will to at least make a move. She had severed the Gordian knot in his head with the ease of a razor.

Ichigo stood up and let out a breath before drawing her to him in a hug. He did not kiss her because she had made it clear that unless she said so, school hours were off limits… at least for them. "Thank you Kaichou." Her expression was a mix of trepidation and understanding. She knew full well what she had done and accepted the consequences that might come. It said a lot of her trust in him that she believed even if he confronted the Church or the Fallen or whoever that he would win. That he would be alive to chastise should he do anything stupid. "I will think on what you have said, try to see a better path for this."

Sona let out a long sigh. "That is all I can ask for."

He took his stack of papers and moved to sit them on her desk. "I need to go out for a bit, now that I have my focus back, I need to go have a talk with…" He frowned as he pinged his senses.. "What are Issei and Koneko doing by themselves? We are supposed to move about in teams of three with all the threats going around."

"Rias thinks that they might be trying to figure out a way to help with Kiba," Sona said with a smile, "You are not the only one who wants to help."

That… that was an interesting thought. Issei had a unique perspective on things, such as the way his words had seemed to hit or even impress the exorcists. Mayhaps he would see the proper way. "Koneko did not mention anything to me, but I have not seen her since yesterday."

"Then it might be prudent to join them and perhaps see what is going on."

"You'll tell Rias?"

"I will, and I will also have Inoue-san near me in case intervention is needed and I will suggest that Rias do the same with Asia."

That made him feel a lot better. "Ok, I will see you in a bit."

She let just a bit of the worry in her voice slip out. "Make sure that you do."

Ichigo left the room and almost knocked over Reya, the girl had clearly been listening and gulped at his sudden appearance. The expression on her face was heartrending, the look of one who had never felt so useless in her life. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I will do my best to bring him back."

She grabbed onto his hand, the grip one of cold iron. "May I, may I please come with you?"

"You do know that..."

"I heard everything Kaichou said," she nodded, "May I come with you?" Her brown eyes were focused, resolved, it was at odds with the slight tremble in her body, but she was determined. Ichigo nodded and gestured her to follow, they quickly made their way up the stairs and onto the open school roof. Raising his hand a silver seal of power appeared as he forced the Power of his Imagination into action. It felt odd to be able to do something with it after only a few days of work, but the power itself was hardcoded into Devils and came naturally to them. He was not very good yet, Inoue had been able to make full clothing after a few hours as a Devil, he did an ok large piece of cloth. But that was not the important part, it was the same color as the clear sky above them and while someone might see movement, they would not be able to make out much of what it was. He had done particularly well as this one had a functional hood which he slipped on and gestured for Reya to come closer.

"Before I do a full stupid, can you teleport?" She shook her head. "Ok, grab onto me then." She stepped forward and after only an instant of hesitation wrapped her arms around his chest. Closing the cloak over them and taking a tight grip of her they shot off into the sky under the mighty force of his Spiritual Power. Faster and far less conspicuous than Devil wings as far as he was concerned, and with a few uses of Flash Step they were even less so.

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They had arrived, landed in a hidden spot and just made their way over to the cafe in time to see Issei and Koneko leave both headed down the street talking quietly. "Is this the part where we follow them?" Reya asked.

"In an anime, perhaps, but I don't really like to do that. I followed Issei on his date once and nearly got myself killed." The smallest phantom pain flared in his chest. "That was not fun, I'm going the direct route, besides, I think Koneko can smell me."

As if on cue the Nekomata tilted her head back, nose up in the air and turned, looking until she found him, standing in the open. He waved to both of them and gestured both of his friends over, Issei shot a quick look of panic at Koneko. Right... like he was going to jump to the assumption of cheating for comedy's sake. Koneko at least seemed to have her head screwed on right or at least as much as any of them these days. WIth a nod, she pointed at an empty table on the sidewalk and they all made their way there.

"Uh, hi Reya," Issei said, "What are, um, you two doing here?"

"Besides that fact that we are supposed to be in groups of three due to everything that is going on? I wanted to know what you two were doing to help Kiba." They glanced at each other, clearly nervous.

"And I am here to help too." Honestly Reya sounded the most sure of herself here.

There was a few seconds of quiet as neither Koneko nor Issei seemed to want to speak first, so Ichigo gave Issei his best teacher look and the boy caved a moment later. "I've been thinking about how we could help Kiba-kun, I mean he is a handsome bastard, but he's my…our family now. So I figured since the Church Exorcist girls have the same goal as Kiba we could see if they would be willing to work together."

Ichigo had to take a moment, taking in a long breath before exhaling. "So you are planning to work with people who want to kill us, who have been trying to do so since." He glanced at Reya.

"Genesis." She supplied helpfully."Since we even knew who each other were."

Issei shrugged. "So, It can't hurt to ask, I mean we both want the same thing and I guess we can go back to fighting after it's all over."

So this was his answer. In response to Kiba's plight it was as simple as going to help him and if he had to work with people who were his mortal enemies then so be it. It was frankly humbling in a way, Issei had come a long way since that normalish human boy trembling in terror at a Fallen Angel.

It was humbling to him too… he had gotten himself so lost in his own hang ups and worry he had simply not considered that he could just go help Kiba accomplish his goal. Sona had shown him a step, but Issei had just done it, made a decision and went about getting it accomplished. Consequences be damned, he was going to help his brother in all but blood… kind of like another young boy, charging the gates of the afterlife for the sake of a beloved friend.

"You do know Rias is going to…" He left the last part unsaid and glanced at Reya. "And Sona is going to be worse."

The bookworm looked calm and serene about that not saying anything. "That's why I did not ask Asia to help," Issei agreed, "I figured Koneko was tough enough to take whatever if was." Said Rook moved her hand to her butt, wincing in memory of something. "And I know its going to hurt and I'm going to beg and plead like a baby but," He shrugged, "Kiba is worth it."

Ichigo watched as Koneko stared into the back of the Pawn, something like respect touching her gaze. She noticed him watching and he mouthed. "Told you." She made a 'humph' sound. Still, perhaps it was time to go with the flow and follow Issei's lead and see where it led them. Honestly, before coming here he had almost never been the one to make plans, just the sucker who had to react to them.

"Well, I want to help him too and your plan sounds like a plan." A bad one, but who knew perhaps Issei could pull off a miracle. If not, he would be there to make sure it was not a fatal mistake, so it was a win-win. "I'll help you." He said.

Reya nodded. "It is not like an alliance like this has not happened before, usually the Fallen and the Church teaming up, but that is a precedent of a sort."

"Oh, ok." Issei looked a bit nervous they had simply agreed. "Um, well we need to find them then, I guess."

Ichigo closed his eyes for a moment then pointed. " Two streets up I think they are in the middle of a market or other sort of gathering, but there is no mistaking those swords."

"Oh, uh, wow, ok let's go!" Issei stood up, then paused. "Could you lead the way Ichigo?"

Ichigo nodded. "Over here."

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Ichigo really could not hide how disappointing it was to see two powerful Church Exorcists begging on the street corner for coins. For one thing the cloaks and the menacing sword wrappings did a lot to keep people away from them. Two, they did not sound very convincing, and three, why in the hell wouldn't the Church just given them money for such an important mission...well, perhaps they might not be expected to survive the mission and if so...assholes.

Issei being Issei just walked up to them. "Uh, are you two ok?" Both girls just stared at the Devil before almost moving to draw their blades. Issei seemed oblivious. "Do you need something to eat or drink, I wanted to talk with you two, but, um, you seem to be begging."

Both girls glanced at him then each other, then at the rest of them and finally at the sheer amount of people around them in the shopping center. As battlegrounds went this was one of the worst possible. "It's Issei," Irina told Xenovia, "He might be a devil now, but he is still Issei."

The blue haired girl gave her partner a withering glare that seemed to go right over her head. "We got some food last night so we are not that bad off, but we could use lunch."

"Ok, there is a nice place right around here." Issei gestured to them. "This way everyone."

A few minutes later both girls were eating, courtesy of Issei's wallet. Ichigo had gotten himself, Koneko, and Reya a little something as to not bankrupt the boy and said boy did not seem hungry. As the two girls finished Irina gave them a big smile. "Thank you so much, may God have mercy on you good hearted Devils."

Issei, Koneko, and Reya immediately grabbed their heads in pain as something subtle seemed to wash over them. Ichigo narrowed his eyes and sent out a flare of his Soul's Power, every mortal on that block felt the ghost of a subtle weight on them for a brief moment. When it faded his friends let out a gasp.

Xenovia was watching him closely as Irina winced. "Oops, sorry about that." She even sounded sincere.

Both he and the other Exorcist waited as the others yelled at Irina not to do that, once things had calmed down a little she let out a sigh and leveled a powerful glare at all of them. "So, what have you sought us out for?"

Issei glanced at him first then steeled his gaze. "We want to help you destroy the Excalibur's."

Judging by the shock on their faces this was just as out there as he thought it should be. Xenovia let out a long breath. "Why would you do that?"

"Because those weapons have brought great pain to Kiba-kun," Reya said gently, "Because of them he was tortured, chained, his family killed, his own body pushed to the breaking point." She gave them a calm look. "Have you heard of the Holy Sword Project...Exorcist?"

Xenovia met the girls accusing gaze. "It was a mistake, the Church was not aware at the time of the lengths to which things were being done, nor the sins of the one in charge of the project. When they did find out the Church sent its best to shut it down."

"Yes," Reya replied, "For all the good that did for the children who the Church was supposed to take care of."

"Even the church makes mistakes, it is run by humans, we are fallible creatures...having said that the church did fail." She gave a thoughtful look to the sky. "He truly is my senior though, that much is true."

Irinia had her eyes closed and her mouth moved in silence, once she was sure that her partner could not see her, Xenovia gave her a fond smile. "What is she doing?" Issei asked.

"Praying for the souls of those who died, she does that when she can't." The girl also closed her eyes and joined her partner in prayer. The Devils stayed quiet a feeling of tense unease among them...well, except for Ichigo. To him it was nostalgic and raised his spirit, or not his spirit, the embers of the other one within him.

"We will accept your help, with the understanding that you are trying to destroy the holy artifacts. While we are willing to do so, if we see the chance to recover them intact we will do that."

"Then we might have a problem." Issei said.

Xenovia nodded. "However, our enemy is a Cadre and we have not seen Kokabiel make his move." She made a humming sound. "Would you be against going after one of the Blades so long as you give us your word that you will destroy it and give us the shards as proof, I can see that working."

"But Xenovia we can't," Irina whispered, "This is our mission."

"One which we only have a one in three chance of surviving."

Irina nodded. "But we knew that going in, we knew that we could be sacrificing ourselves for our faith."

"That is true, but I am willing to sacrifice even my soul if it keeps the Sacred Relics out of the hands of the Fallen." Irina's mouth snapped shut in shock at Xenovia's words. "So we need to go find Kiba Yuuto." The exorcist asked.

"Ya we need to tell him about this."

"How are you planning to find him?"

Issei pointed at Ichigo. "He's sitting next to the fountain near the center of town," Ichigo answered, "Probably waiting for nightfall."

"Uh," Irina asked, "How did he do that?"

"I have no idea," Issei shrugged, "He just knows where everyone is, it's how we found you." Ichigo did not think Issei realised how threatening that sounded as both girls recoiled from him.

"Well, since that is that," Ichigo sighed, "We better get going."

"Ichigo," Reya said tugging on his arm, he glanced down, "There is one person I think you should call in on this otherwise she might be really mad you."

"Uhhh?"

"Tsubasa." She added helpfully. "You know the one person who is not with Kaichou at this moment, who is more than willing to face a punishment for you." Ichigo did not say that was because she enjoyed that sort of thing. "And she might feel left out and that would be bad."

"She is right," Koneko sighed, taking his hand, "I would feel the same way were our roles reversed."

Well… if they were telling him to do it and he seemed to be in the mood to being told what to do this day… why not. He took out his phone and punched in the contact number.

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"Yah, I would have been livid." Tsubasa agreed as they watched Issei explain to Kiba what was going on and what they were doing. "Kaichou is not going to like this."

"Consider the consequences a gift."

She snorted. "Just because I like that sort of thing, does not mean I can show her that, she might stop doing it." He laughed and put his arm around her.

Koneko looked up from where his other hand sat atop her head looking longingly at Tsubasa's height, unless he was sitting down they could not do the shoulder thing. "How is a spanking fun?"

The Rook smiled. "There are a lot of sensitive bits near the area being stuck; the force of the blows can set them off. If you can take a bit of a pain it can be quite fun, it's a mindset really. If you think you deserve it then it could very well be a punishment. But if you go into it ready for some action, well," she turned her grin down on the small Rook, "You'll have to just try it yourself."

"Bad Tsubasa, stop lewding the loli." He chided flicking her forehead.

"I...am...not...a...loli:" Koneko hissed…actually hissed, it kind of caught Tsubasa by surprise.

"I surrender." He replied, making his hand move extra fast and hard watching as she tried to stay angry, but just sort of fell back into bliss. He could feel furry appendages forming on her head and was careful to keep them covered.

"I'm shocked you even know that meme." Tsubasa laughed. "Kaichou getting you that updated smartphone was a mistake."

"Why do I feel so bad that we are joking, but can't stop?" Koneko asked.

"We are all nervous and worried, you could cut the tension here with a knife and we might be very well going into battle with and against Holy Swords." Ichigo nodded. "We are all tense and joking helps... plus with Issei in charge of this whole thing I don't need to be the one to talk to Kiba and given that my thoughts on the matter that is good for you, I would be doing the same thing." He sighed. "I'm glad Issei's better traits are showing, notice he has not even looked at the Exorcists' boobs once."

"Did not stop him from looking at Reya's boobs."

"Can't have everything Koneko-chan."

They all tensed as Issei stepped between Kiba and Xenovia as both looked to be ready to start a fight. They all went quiet to listen. "I understand your hatred of the Holy Sword Project, it is one of the greatest shames in modern history to the Church. You must know that all of those who had part in that atrocity were either executed, or if they could not be caught exiled and excommunicated. I tell you this because we have reason to believe that Valpar Galilei could be part of this."

Kiba's eyes went flat for a moment before returning to normal. "That man… has a great deal to answer for."

"With a name like 'The Genoicide Archbishop' that seems to be a given." Irina added helpfully.

"Besides, we are not hiding the fact that if we can recover the blades intact we will, however, one is promised to your group to destroy." Reya had been quiet up to this point and even now she did not speak. Moving as if on instinct she put a hand on the Knight's shoulder. His burning eyes flickered to her and she gulped, but held firm. His eyes softened and the Magic Circle on his hand fell away, seeing that Reya let go and stepped back. "Hearing that, I do not have any reason to say no."

Xenovia nodded and let go of her weapon. "It is settled then, we will meet you tonight at the old church." She paused before leaving. "I will pay you back for the meal one day, Red Dragon Emperor Issei Hyoudou." It was a thanks and a threat, telling him that she knew exactly who he was. Issei seemed to miss that part and scratched the back of his head and gave her a smile. "Ok."

The exorcist smiled just a little and lead her partner away, Irina gave them a beaming smile. "See you later friendly Devils." They watched them leave, waiting until they were out of sight and earshot before speaking. Kiba turned to look at them all, pausing on Reya beside him and Issei the longest. "Why are you all here?" He asked at last.

Issei actually laughed at that. "We are family and you need help, besides, you have helped me before."

"And me." Reya said.

"And me." Koneko added.

Tsubasa kept quiet and Ichigo just nodded, Kiba tilted his head at the Rook. "What are you here?"

"Cause my boyfriend asked me to help."

The Knight blinked hard and shook his head. "No, no, no I don't want any of your help."

"And?" Issei asked.

"What part of that do you not understand? I know what I am doing could very well get me killed, I am not going to get anyone else I love killed in my place, not again, not ever."

Ichigo did not think Kiba noticed, but Reya's eyes went flat at his words. "This is about my personal revenge, my first family was killed by the Church. Cast aside as useless trash, they gave themselves so that I could live." He closed his eyes. "We prayed for God to help us but he did not, either he did not care or perhaps he considered it all his will."

' **No!'** Ichigo vibrated with that word, and he knew the answer, how could a God answer prayers when he was dead. How could an Angel who had never been meant to be in charge, hear every voice that cried out. There was a new sensation, one of Wrath as bright and hot as the sun, the rage of an Archangel who had learned the truth too late.

"And I ran," Somehow this seemed like a confession, something he had wanted to say for years, "I ran so that I could live, so that one day I could make what they gave me mean something. That I could make sure this could never happen again." His breathing was hard. "This is something I need to do alone, because if I die I am not taking any of you with me."

He was caught off guard as Reya slapped him… hard. She was not a Rook, but as a Devil was stronger than a human. Kiba was a Knight, speed was his defence so the blow knocked him sprawling on his ass. Issei gulped and took a step back as Reya slammed her foot down and towered over the Knight where he lay. "What the hell do you think going off and dying will accomplish?"

She bent down and grabbed him by his shirt collar. "You think that you just get to go and die and nothing will happen? The bonds you have formed with your family will just disappear? Do you think your life is so worthless as that, do you think the Rias Gremory would have taken such a person into her life? You have friends Yuuto, friends who love you, friends who are willing to go against the orders of our Kings, who will make deals with our greatest enemies, who will face the Holy fucking Swords of the Church itself because you want revenge." She had him halfway pulled off the ground now, nearly eye to eye with her.

"While none of us can truly understand what you are going through, we can empathise, we can understand your desire. The Peerage exists to further the goals of every member, to go hand and hand into the future. The Kiba I know would have never forgotten that, he would have never turned his back on the women who saved his life, and he would never, not in a million years, throw away his friends." She dropped him and half stormed away, Tsubasa moved in front of her and gave her a comforting hug as Kiba just stared after the normally quiet librarian.

To be fair they were all pretty shocked by the outburst, Issei of course was the first to break that silence. "Ya...what she said and add in that I'm going to help you whether you want in or not."

"Same." Koneko nodded.

Ichigo just gave Kiba a look and said nothing, he was a Guardian, there was nothing that he needed to say. Besides, he had done a lot of ill advised things for family, so long as he kept an eye out for the others this would not even rank on his top ten.

Kiba gently moved a hand up to his cheek, a red handprint emblazoned on the side of his face. Reya was not looking at him, her fists were still clenched in anger and it looked like she might be crying a little into Tsubasa's shoulder. For his part the Knight was stared at her like it was the first time he had ever truly taken note of the girl. Slowly he looked at all of them once again, their eyes set with determination, in fact blue Soul Light burned in Koneko's eyes and Ichigo could feel her Soul twist and hiss like a cat ready for battle.

The Knight bowed his head. "I'm sorry." His shoulders dropped his voice broke. "Please, please help me avenge them… I can't do it alone."

Ichigo walked up to the boy at the same time as Issei, they both reached out a hand and pulled him off the ground. Ichigo nodded at Issei who grinned. "Of course, what is family for Kiba?"

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Rias, Sona, Asia and Inoue sat in Sona's house. They sat in one of the rooms which had heated steam rising from the floor, coating their naked bodies in sweat and condensation. "Ohhhh." Inoue almost moaned as she stretched. Rias almost felt intimidated by the girl's impressive bust, less than a cup smaller than hers, and since she was in the range of an F-cup the difference was not all that much.

"I agree." Asia was laying down on one of the benches, luxuriating in the steam. "This feels really, really good."

As Rias and her best friends had been in this place more often it was somewhat less effective on them, sure it felt good, but they were used to it. "So what are you hoping Kurosaki will do?" she plied Sona.

"Honestly, I am really hoping that one of yours might convince your Knight to come back on his own and abandoned the foolish endeavor. But since I am a realist, I think that what will most likely happen is that he will step in when Kiba gets in over his head."

"Not join Kiba in his revenge?"

Sona shivered. "It's not outside the realm of possibility and I knew that when I helped him. Right now we will have to wait for the reports from our Queens." Rias nodded and twisted with her back a little, wincing. Sona rolled her eyes. "Turn around." The Gremory Heiress gave her a look of pure gratitude and did so. Both her Bishop and her best friend's Bishop turned to watch as Sona pressed her hands into Rias's back. There were some issues that came with a chest size like hers, and though Inoue could have just erased the pain and Asia could have healed it… there was nothing quite like the feeling of someone's hand pressing into the pain and making it fade. "Honestly, if your body was a bit more reasonable in proportions this would not happen." Sona grumbled.

"It's not my fault," Rias feigned a swoon, "I was drawn this way."

"Oh, Oh," Inoue bounced in place, "Who framed Roger Rabbit?"

"Very good," Rias complemented, "My Brother likes that movie, though I heard his Wife threw it out when their son was born."

Two lights flashed as the transparent figures of Akeno and Tsubaki appeared floating over Rias and Sona's crests. The spell itself worked by an exhaustive process of imbuing the communication spell and symbolically linking it to an item of the same type. It created a link between the two items which allowed for the closest thing to untapable communion. Before they had become what they were, it would have been inconvenient for the amount of power involved plus the item stopped working after a few uses. Now it was just an effort, which was nice when Fallen Angel's and Church Exorcist's were in town and would have loved to hear what the enemy was saying.

"We have some news." Tsubaki said.

Akeno just shook her head. "You are not going to believe this Buchou."

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"How goes your mission?"

The figure that stood over the small bowl. "Well, my lord, we intercepted the messages intended for the usurpers. So long as they do not decide to come here, the targets should receive no help at all."

"Keep an eye on things, but do not reveal yourself."

"Of course my lord."

"Excellent, even if none of our targets are killed make a full report on anything you can observe of their powers."

"It will be done."

"This is the last communication you will receive from me, until we meet again face to face. Do not disappoint me."

The face vanished as the symbol for the old Satan faction flared upon the water, then vanished.

The man let out a long sigh staring at himself in the mirror. He was a slight man, a nondescript man, with salt and pepper hair, a normal nose, normal face. He was easy to lose in a crowd, he was one of those who lacked great personal power. So he used what he had to it's best effect, his true skill was hiding his power so well he could be mistaken for a human.

It could be a valuable trait for any sort of mission that had to do with the mortal world. With a nod he returned to his hotel bed, it was empty and cold, but in this town of all places you did not want to leave any evidence of your passing. Not even in the memory of a mortal pleasure girl, and while some might have done that and removed the memory the extra effort and steps required could each backfire and he had no desire to leave anything he controlled to chance.

With that thought he flicked on the tv and settled in to let his mind turn off as he watched pointless mortal news.

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As Irina settled in next to her partner for the wait until their… allies showed up, she spoke about something that had been bothering her. "You did not tell them that we did not and could not stop the Father Vasco from continuing his mission."

"I saw no need, it is not our issue or even connected to our mission." A familiar smile touched her partner's face. "And if he decides to make a move while a good portion of the Devil's strength is otherwise occupied...well, it's not our fault."

Irina felt a little ill at hearing those words, somehow they were both facts and a rebuke. Just another reminder that she was not as good as her partner. Xenovia was a better sword fighter, had better control over her light, was more determined, undaunted. She was the one in charge, she was willing to be ruthless in her prosecution of the war for the Souls of Humanity.

It was not at all what Irina had thought this would be like. They were the forces of the Church, they exposed the Demonic taint to the Light and cleansed it. They broke lies, they told the shining truth to those who had gone from its Light. Or at least that was what she imagined, all this sneaking and plotting… it just would not sit well with her. She sighed and pulled her hood lower over her face. Yet another reason she was not as good.

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 **Well everything is shaping up to quite fun, we had anger among the devils, doubts among the exorcists, players in the shadows moving pieces and of course the batshit insane Kokebel on the horizon, fun, fun, fun.**

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 **Comments of the week**

 **Lineras91**

 **The only critique I have is that you neuter Ichigo when Xenovia was talking down to her to prop Issei more. Ichigo should at least stood with Asia and provide a shoulder at the start. He wouldn't act passive in that situation. It feels seriously out of character, more so say "Hey, Issei is here and he might get with Asai." than an actual portrayal, like with Kiba. Even there it feels a bit off, since Ichigo is kind, but Issei has a better showing of it.**

 _ **I can see why this could be interpreted as such, but I was going for a group scene. Amway Asia is not going to Issei, I have said that several times.**_

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 **HollowIchigo12**

 **Good chapter and I look forward to seeing to how Vasco tries to fail or stall his objective as long as possible.**

 **Is Asia being targeted by Vasco's superiors because she unknowingly has evidence that the biblical God is dead? That is one of the reasons I can think of for why they would want her dead.**

 **Not sure if that was intentional or but many of the devil characters in this chapter were able to say the word 'God' without being punished for it. As far as I know only Ichigo and to an extent Aisa have this ability to far. The exorcists should have been freaking out or wondering what was going on if characters like Rias, Akeno and the others are able to say God without feeling pain doing it.**

 _ **To the first question, try and think a little more political, what could the devil faction do with a well known saint that turned to there side?**_

 _ **To the second part that was my mistake I will have to fix that later.**_

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 **DefconDeciver**

 **I was wondering if you given any thought to the god of the holy Bible being a Holy Trinity rather than simply a wise old man in the sky that was romanticized and popularized during the Renaissance. I wouldn't expect too many people in Japan to have ever heard of the Holy Trinity, but the idea would have interesting revelations about the World of DxD. The Holy Trinity consist of the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit. The way God's system works in DXD cannon feels a lot like it's dependent on the Holy Spirit, if not the Holy Spirit itself.**

 **The Holy Spirit is what uniquely connects the God of the Bible to his followers (Religious scholar's debate on whether that connection extends just to baptized and faithful Christians, all the way up to all sentient life in our universe). A lesser known religious theory, is that Jesus Christ and the Michael are the same person, as both were said to have been seated at the right hand of the father/god. This theory in the DXD setting adds further context and meaning to why DxD Michael is trying to fill in for the heavenly father.**

 _ **I did think about this while I was planning this story, but after reading and rereading how the church works, im not even sure Jesus is a thing in dxd. So I have mostly been working with has been shown. Though I have changed up the powers of the Archangels to make them more fun and unique like the devils.**_

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 **I don't remember who said it (probably either you in a previous chapter or Third Fang in his DxD story) but I have to agree that in canon it seems like someone was working against the interests of the church by sending Irina and Xenovia alone with two shards of Excalibur to stop Kokabiel it's like the church is trying to hand him two more shards as they can't beat Kokabiel hell I doubt they could even defeat Freed.**

 **An again you throw me for a bit of a loop as I half expected Vasco to be after Ichigo for some reason rather than Asia as she's really not all that much of a threat to the church, unless you have something more planned for her character than was ever shown in canon. Even in Balance Break Asia would have to focus on healing a group such as the Maou if war broke out and that would leave pretty much everyone else who's hurt screwed in the long run lol**

 _ **Its not Asia's personal power that makes her dangerous, is what can be done in her name and image, as well as one other thing that will come up later.**_

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 **Aesir19**

 **Those of power in the Church placing a geas on Father Strada to kill Asia is easily believable. One could say that the burning of witches and demonizing of healing knowledge from older religions/civilizations were similar attempts to remove things which may have threatened the Church's power over the people (not to say there weren't very bad witches).**

 **Given Asia's aversion to violence and lack of any combat ability, mandating this task to Vasco is total overkill. One would conclude the Church is expecting devil resistance and collateral damage to certain devils she is associated with.**

 _ **You have gotten most the reasons Asia is being targeted or at least the reasons being used to convince people she should be targeted. There is more but that will be revealed in time.**_

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 **Comment** **of the Week**

 **Knives91**

 **I don't think the Church comes with 'act of Ichigo' insurance. Those poor, poor idiots. They won't survive his reprisal should a hair be harmed on Asia's head.**

" _ **How much for the insurance?"**_

" _ **Two billion sir"**_

" _ **Why?"**_

" _ **It says that you have made personal enemies with one Ichigo Kurosaki, believe me that does not come cheap, I would suggest making peace with him before this."**_

" _ **Shit but I kidnapped his sister"**_

" _ **...get out of firm"**_

 _ ***explosions in background***_

" _ **Fuck"**_


	36. Chapter 35

**Sup everyone, Quicker update than normal so I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Again thank you to Aroneden for proofreading**

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It was an odd assortment of people who met under the starlight sky that night in Kouh; under the shadow of the old church devils and exorcists met not to do battle, but to fight a greater foe. Now Ichigo had no doubt this sort of thing had happened before because a thousand years was a long time. Not often of course, and perhaps never because of the efforts of a fifteen year old boy.

Nonetheless he was privately amazed, perhaps that should not have been the case; he had worked with Hollows, Vizards, Arrancar, Shinigami even the shinigami version Hell itself. But most often it had never been through his own work, his own initiative. Most of the time those groups came to him, it was perhaps why this idea had never occurred to him. Though to be fair it had occurred to no one else save Issei Hyoudou, that boy had looked at the problem, all the red tape, all the history and simply gone over it.

It made him glad in a way, to see that he was still his own person, that he was not tuning the boy into some sort of clone of himself. He would never want nor wish that on anyone, his main goal was to make his family stronger and see if he could at least aim the boy's perversions away from people who did not want to be part of them. Momo and Ruruka were helping in that regard, in fact that seemed to be enjoying it. Saji had never given much thought to how they made themselves look but Issei was more than happy to tell them so. Hell if either showed a bit of cleavage they could have him wrapped around their thumb. Not that the boy seemed to mind in the slightest; perhaps when this affair was over they could go on their (not date) and see how that went.

"Yen for your thoughts" Tsubasa said.

His two rooks were on either side of him nobody was touching but they didn't need to, tonight would be a night of violence and in their own way they all prepared. Kiba stood to one side looking odd… Reya was on the other side of the group her back turned to him, even if her anger had dimmed somewhat she still seethed in rage at the knight. Her words must have had some effect because his eyes, his stance, they all lacked the vicious self destructive hatred of last night.

The knight stole a few glances at the Bishop here and there, his look even more odd on his handsome face. Confusion, uncertainty, trepidation and…. Respect. Somehow her words had reached him, reached him in a way Rias had not; in the rest of them had not… well except for Issei. Perhaps it was the tag team aspect, Issei had broken his guard with his willingness to help, and Reya had shattered it by doing something so out of character it demanded thought as to why he had caused such a response.

Couple that the fact that she had still come to help him despite being enraged… well the Knight had a lot to think about; And that, Ichigo felt was a good thing he himself had a lot to think about and had been thinking about this past day. Such as the undeniably poignant fact that he could stand to learn a few lessons from Issei about how to deal with family

"It seems you all made it." Xenovia walked out of the church with Irina in tow, said girl looked a little distracted. A hint of her cheery self muted, perhaps that was how she dealt with combat "Come on in we need to get you all dressed."

"In what?" Ichigo asked.

"The uniform of the exorcist."

"Why?"

Xenovia rolled her eyes "To disguise you"

"How is that going to do anything, hell wearing that will make us more obvious."

The girls shrugged "Well if you do not want to wear it then you can stay behind" Ichigo rolled his eyes but since the others did not seem to mind really and Kiba would take whatever route got him there faster he let it go.

They were taken into the church and an instant sense of ease fell over him, in the opposite way it seemed to affect the other devils in the group. There was power here, old and faded but never gone; just standing in it he could feel that power flowing to him and through him. It did not stay in his body and taking it away from this place felt wrong but it was a pleasant sensation nonetheless. "Room on the right" Irina pointed "You boys can change in there, and you girls get the left.

"I'll keep watch until everyone gets dressed" Tsubasa said to which Xenovia paused and gave a little smile along with a nod of respect. Ichigo had been about to say something similar a precaution he doubted his teammates in the Rias peerage would have thought off.

He put a hand on her shoulder as he moved passed "Thank you" the rook just smiled and leaned back in what looked like a relaxed stance. Nothing could have been further from the truth but it did not look threatening. He doubted it would fool Xenovia but at least the girl would know they made the effort.

He, Issei and Kiba walked into the room and found about a dozen spare exorcist garbs in different sizes. Ichigo grabbed three that looked like they might fit and the other boy's did the same.

"Kurosaki" He glanced lover at Kiba who was eyeing him and Issei "Why are you doing this? Beyond what has been said already you could stop me if you wanted to, surely Bouchou would want that."

"Rias wants us to be safe" he corrected "I understand what you are going through, I would be a hypocrite to try and stop you. Therefore I will help you, it's the only way I can protect you."

Kiba looked away from him down to the clothing he was supposed to put on. "So every one of you is doing this because I could get myself hurt?"

"That is the price of having a family who loves you, or in Reya's case someone who simply loves you. You lose the right to only affect yourself the moment you let others into your life. The moment you took Buchou's hand you were no longer alone." The knights fingers so quick and assured seemed clumsy in that moment with his head bowed. Issei gave him a worried look but kept quiet as they let the knight sort through his feelings.

On that sobering note they left the room and after a few minutes they had all assembled together. Xenovia nodded at them before glancing at Issei "Since you are helping us it seems only right that I tell you the white dragon is active." Now to the rest of them the words meant nothing but it clearly struck something in Issei.

Irina glanced from her partner to them and her expression took on a note of devil may care defiance "We also did have a discussion with Cardinal Vasco" the way she looked at them made it seem like they should have known the name. "We were not able to convince him to abide by the terms of the truce." Xenovia looked livid as her partner spoke "He is still going after his target, whoever that is."

"Any luck it's that big fallen angel?" Reya asked.

"No, that would make way too much sense" Irina groused.

"Moving on" Xenovia whispered "There are several places which our intelligence has pinged as possible sites for enemy activity."

The way she turned the conversation had him on edge, while it was true whoever this was had defeated Kiba, and done so with ease, the very tone Irina had spoken in was a warning. What he really wanted right now was to get the exorcist alone for a moment so that they could talk. But judging by the glare her partner was still giving her out of the corner of her eye that was not going to happen.

Still surely if it was really that bad, they would get an answer form Sirzech or Serafall. Both had been dispatched letters and neither had answered yet which now that he thought about it was odd in and of itself. With how those two adored their baby sisters even a minor threat like this would have at least got something.

"We are going to split up, if either of us finds anything we will give each other a call, understood?" They nodded "Let's get going then"

They were quite as they moved back into town, Ichigo had to resist rolling his eyes at how out of place they all looked, people actually cleared the streets at catching sight of them. Which was useful on its own but made finding someone harder when they could easily see you coming so like everything in the world a tradeoff.

His spiritual sense was active and ready and that thankfully could go further than they could see. So far there were no one besides humans, nonetheless he swept the area again and found something odd. His knew he had gotten better at sensing but it was like finding a tiny pin needle in a city wide haystack. He followed it down to the boy right next to him and frowned, he had thought the sacred gear Issei possessed had devoured his power. But there was a small bit it seemed to have missed, that small piece of his soul seemed to sense his awareness and it grew, grew by just a bit.

" **I'm telling you to be careful** " Ichgio almost flinched at the deep voice " **You never know when the white dragon is going to attack** " Issei's gaze was focused.

"And just who is the white dragon, I mean besides your rival" it was clearly Issei's voice but his mouth had not moved.

" **Second Rival** " the voice corrected " **I have the dead god's boy toy when the White is not here** "

"Why do you call him that, who is the Dead God and what does he have to do with Ichigo?"

" **That does not matter, all that does is that you are going stronger, you have done well to increase the time you can use my armor.** "

"Don't forget that I actually am learning how to fight hand to hand"

" **I refuse to acknowledge anything that abomination does for you** "

"Fragile little butter flower aren't you"

There was no response apparently the voice felt that question was beneath its dignity "Is something wrong?" Koneko asked, she must have noted Issei's distracted gaze.

It took the boy a moment to respond "Hmm? Nothing, I was just wondering where we should go, I mean I don't think walking around like this is going to find them."

"Perhaps they are in a less populated area" Kiba said.

"I know a few of those places" Reya added with a nod.

Kiba paused to confer with her as they exchanged quite words, the girl looked to be trying her hardest to remember she was mad at the knight and not about to squee that their faces were so close. "We should start there" he agreed and pointed "The old Observatory."

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There were about a mile away when Ichigo felt it, the presence of a sacred sword; as he focused in on that he found one human soul and one…whatever it was just sensing it felt like running his body though liquid sewage. He had never in his life had he ever come across something so alien. "Nel" he said.

His familiar appeared on his shoulder she yawned "What's up Itsygo?"

"Do you feel that?" at his words the whole party stop moving.

Nel closed her eyes and made a face her small nose wrinkling "That is" her voice was different, older "Disgusting"

"Do you recognize it" she shook her head "Is not a hollow or any variation that I do know" the whole group was starting at them. "Did you notice the barrier?"

"No what barrier?"

"The one with a hole right on the path that leads to it, like they want people to show but only by the front."

It took him a moment but with Nel's guidance his senses adjusted "It seems to be based on the same power that Negación uses. Weaker it can be broken but is large enough to cover a whole building."

"Understood."

"So" Tsubasa said "What are you two talking about?"

"There is someone there" he nodded in the direction of the observatory "One human, and one...I don't know but one of something. There is a holy sword and a barrier that keeps anyone from entering besides the front." Issei took out his phone and sent a text, probably to the Xenovia and Irina.

"However with enough force the barrier can be broken, so here is my idea for a plan. Kiba, Me, Issei and Reya, will enter the front. With Reya to act as support for me, Kiba, and Issei; we will wait for a few minutes first so that Koneko and Tsubasa have time to flank. Given that the two of you are rooks you should have the force to break through the barrier and attack from the rear. Once the other two arrive they will probably just run in and attack so that kind of makes a flank strike even more necessary." he nodded 'Anyone have any objections?"

After a moment of quiet it seemed no one did "Let's get moving then"

So it was with that the advance party waited in place few several long minutes, once the two rooks were in place they received a single thumbs up text message. With that accomplished he nodded at his team "Reya your job is to be on the defensive, protect us I would not be surprised if there are tricks I don't know about.

The wind picked up as Reya slipped off her glasses and put them in a pocket. Small green symbols appeared around her as the wind bent inward around the bishop. She started murmuring in Latin as they ascended the steps.

Ichigo let out a breath and since they had time spoke the truth of his soul. Unnecessary but it felt right, it felt like it was how his power should be awakened.

"I am the Guardian seeking domination and supremacy of the self."

"I am that who rejects the infinite, I am he who denies the dream."

"I shall become the Blade, before which fate and reason die."

"And I shall take you to the heights of our shining future."

"Engage, Zangetsu"

His body shimmered in blue light that moved over his skin like a wave leaving behind black cloth, the marked skin, the single horn and a glowing yellow eye. The familiar, powerful weight of Zangetsu settled into his back. "That's better." he whispered now free that ridiculous exorcist outfit. Reya did not seem to care but Kiba did the same casting the clothing off to the side. Nel did as she always did and clung to his back like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Issei also tossed off his costume and manifested both of his gauntlets. "Ok" he murmured "Let's go attack something with an instant kill, should be fun."

"Just remember your training" Ichigo replied "Don't get hit."

"I am fully aware of that"

Nel spoke up "We are here"

Nothing attacked them the instant they arrived but there was a perfectly visible threat. It stood on top of the observatory, leaking pure spiritual rot the likes of which he truly never experienced. Its appearance however did not match the sensation. It stood about six feet tall its entire body covered in some modern interpretation of full plate. Silver bright with sacred runes etched all over its metal. The armor had odd looking joints, bulbous ball like protrusions seemingly designed to allow full range of motion. Across the visor was a red line and wings had been embroidered into the metal. But most importantly across its back was a holy sword.

They were in its vision but nothing of its form moved "Well, well, well, I did not think coming here would result in a reunion." With an appropriate dramatic walk a figure walked onto the roof. He was short, a bit on the rotund side with frizzy grey hair a white priest's outfit complete with an odd white head covering "I had wondered if you succeeded in your escape Kiba-kun"

A silence fell over the area as the Knights eyes with wide in pure hate "Valpar Galilei".

"I had heard that one escaped but that given the temperature, the state of weakness you had to be in and the blizzard I assumed you died." he smiled "It seems I was right, though I must say I am happy to see you well."

"I'll kill you" Kiba whispered.

"You will try young man, and when you fail I will get a chance to see what moderate light affinity does when it is transmuted into a devil form." He put his finger to his chin "Does it help or hinder?"

Kiba vanished in blue of speed, simply appearing next to the Bishop his dark blade howling for blood and crashing into a sudden corona of shimmering light. At the same moment the armored one grasped his blade and vanished from sight, however it could not hide its spiritual stench. Closing his eyes and syncing with Zangetsu he used the flash step to appear at Kiba's back.

In the darkness that was his world now he saw a sickly green flame and a blade of pure radiance. He blocked the blow and met the creature strength to strength, it almost pushed him back, deadlocked it gave way and unleashed a powerful slash that Ichigo was forced to block again rather than have it hit Kiba. From the sound of it the boy had tried to break the shield again and was not paying any attention to the world around him.

Ichigo let go of the blade with one hand balling it into a fist causing a flare of blue veins as he struck out and impacted the creature. It was rocked back a few feet off balance "It's visible now" Reya yelled.

Ichigo opened his eyes to see that the create currently had an issue with a wind spell pinning a host of small debris, leaves and sticks pinned to is form. It was at that moment he realised she had not been speaking to him, a blast of green energy that burned through the concrete of the building slammed into it. Fully visible now it had turned into the blast and knelt with the blade before it like a shield against the blast.

It might have worked but Issei was not alone "Getsuga Tenshou" he snarled and brought his own blade down. The two blasts collided and… mixed, became stronger, a turquoise orb swallowed most of the monster. Ichigo had to turn grab Kiba, feel his back get singed and flash step them away a heartbeat before they got caught up in the explosion. Most of the building vanished, Valpar was flung away still protected by his barrier to rebound off the magical dome and back onto the ground.

The old man let out a wheezing laugh as he rolled onto his belly, Kiba tore himself from Ichigo's grip was on the man like a carrion bird; twin swords of darkness raining down slashes like a blender. Once again his focus so absolute that he did not see a figure burst from the dust and shoulder ram him hard enough to send him though a tree and crashing into another. Gold sparks danced along the scorched armor as a good half of the sacred runes looked blackened and burned out.

"Well you lot seem to have a lot more power than was reported." The former priest said with a sigh of pain. "Golem kill" his words were cut off as the barrier dome shattered and two figures fell from the sky, both Koneko and Tsubasa's right arms were glowing, Koneko's a twisted set of blue vines ending in a rose, Tsubasa's arm looked had patterned blue lines like him but hers were in some pattern that made it look like it was covered in glowing scales. On her fist the lines freemed to form two rows of stylized teeth, both girls were targeting the old man that was clear. The armored one turned and that was when Ichigo and Issei moved, he flash stepped in front of it and brought his blade around in a spinning chop forcing it to block, it vanished with the power of its sacred blade but had no time to move. Issei moved with speed he did not possess, the wind itself pushing him onward, speeding him, and removing as much friction in the space before him as Reya could manage.

His glowing green arm slammed into the invisible creatures back denting the armor and making it visible again, the dragon hand came up and grasped the blade hand. The ground shattered behind them as both Rooks slammed into Valpar. There was a sound of pain as the dust cleared and the light around the man flickered and died.

With a snarl of effort, cloaking his blade with the power of the moon fang Ichigo brought his weapon down on the arm Issei had pinned. The metal heated scarlet, a dozen more runes sparked out, then thirty as the thing glowed gold and in a squeal of twisting metal its arm twisted around and grabbed onto Issei's sacred Gear. Its body contorted into a horrific shape not at all human looking anymore and Issei went flying as it hurled him into the sky. About fifty feet up the boy summoned his wings but that was all the time Ichigo had as he parried a blade aimed at his feet, the arm holding it now having three sixty motion.

"Halt" A weak voice cried.

The monster stopped moving and simply drooped; Ichigo took a cautious step back and glanced behind him keeping the monster in the corner of his eye. Koneko looked like she had very nearly twisted the man's arm off. Ichigo shook his head "Clever girl"

"I know right" Tsubasa said.

Kiba was slowly pulling himself from the tree, including pulling his body off a jagged splinter that had impaled his back. The knight hardly seemed to notice, the blood dribbled down his side but being a devil it was not nearly as bad as it looked. Two flashes of black landed as the exorcists finally arrived "What in God's name is that?" Irina said looking slightly ill.

Ichigo could not blame her, right now it looked about half as bad soul, the thing had not moved in inch since it had been told to stop.

"W-well now that would be golomancy" Valpar said cradling his right arm, he did not move more than that because Tsubasa had his head in a vice grip. The girl herself did not look like she could bring herself to just pop the man's head like a grape but he could not see that and must have assumed she was more than willing.

"Had a lot of spare parts after the holy sword experiments could not let all that light affinity flesh go to waste." Kiba stopped moving his face turning absolutely pale looking at the mangled creature. "Oh of course it does look unseemly, do fix that" he said. Metal squealed and twisted back into shape, the armor looking almost fresh despite the burn marks. Another thirty of the runes had turned black leaving not all that many glowing gold. "Took a lot of work grafting individual parts with high light affinity, then bonding it to armor, spending the money for the enchantments." the man sighed, "All in all not worth it in the end, it barely has enough light affinity to hold Excalibur Transparency, sure it can use its ability but it cant bring out its full power. To be quite honest, this was my backup plan since that moran Freed got himself caught by the church. That wicked snake is probably spilling his guts by now" somehow the old man managed to sound kind as he just talked into the air clearly loving the sound of his own voice.

"Monster" Issei whispered, Reya looked on the verge of throwing up, and Nel was quite her gaze locked on the man. It might save them all trouble if he let the arrancar just eat the vile man's soul.

Kiba moved next to the armored figure "You" he whispered, "You just chopped them up for parts?"

"What else was I supposed to do, I mean I could have gotten rid of them but you would never have had the chance to see again."

"Enough" Xenovia whispered.

Tsubasa and Koneko stepped back as the exorcist drew forth her Excalibur and pointed it his throat "Valpar Gaspari In the name of the holy church you are charged with innumerable crimes against humanity, the theft of sacred artifacts and the desecration of the Church's holy name. Tell us where the other blades are and you might just avoid execution."

Even Ichigo almost didn't see what happened next, a strangled cry from the knight an arm and a blade moving as if light itself. Kiba's glare was absolutely insane his eyes blood red and the wordless howl he gave was something for a forgotten eon.

The dark blade's tip pierced the man's eye and seemed set on punching through his head, it was when a light flared, as all the rest of the runes on the Golem's body expended. When the light cleared there was a single human eyeball skewered on the tip of the blade. There was a crashing sound as something in the woods ran headlong through the underbrush. Xenovia spared Kiba a single glare before barking orders at Irina. Both girls leapt after it, Kiba growled like a maddened beast and made to jump in after them, Ichigo caught him by the back of his shirt and yanked him off his feet "No" he said voice cold as Ice.

The knight whirled on him not able to from words "If you're not going to expand the least amount of effort to keep yourself alive, then fuck being a hypocrite."

"Did you even hear" the voice was sharp drawn from the boy's throat like blood from a wound "Do even get what he did to them."

"I did" he replied.

Kiba's sword came up in a slashing motion, Ichigo shattered it with an almost contemptuous backhand "Really?" he asked, "You would raise your blade at us."

"Shut up" Kiba's power shifted "I have to Kill him" he breathed "kill him, Kill him, I have to kill him"

"No you are going to die if you try, calm down then we will all go"

"I" something broke "DONT CARE!"

Devil power roared in time with that howl a wave of red light somehow corrupted, dark, vile, "Yutto!" Reya looked panicked "Don't"

A horn erupted from the center of the boy's forehead pointing straight up, the red power seemed to seep into the Knight's skin, tuning it the color of blood, his hair seemed to fade to an almost platinum color. "No" Koneko whimpered and fell to her knees. The knight was being consumed by his own power, gaining more in exchange for everything, Kiba Yutto was becoming a true stray. Two new sets of red eyes opened above the knights own, his shoulder distended as a third arm started to emerge.

"Kill, Kill, KILLL!" it howled.

Twin circles flared behind them all as Sona, Tsubaki, Orihime, Rias, Akeno and Asia arrived into this horrorscape. "No, no, no" Rias looked stunned, horrified and Sona herself looked no less so. Things had just gone from bad to worse, Ichigo could almost see the future taking shape, them having to put down the knight before he hurt anyone, the pain, the heartbreak, the agony, he could see that future clear as day and… he rejected that and drew on his power.

1

Watching on his comfortable chair quite a safe distance away the Fallen Angel known to all as Kokabiel, Cadre of the Gregory, lord of war and battle, sat and watched the events unfold. Unlike his brethren his body had not taken on an aspect of beauty, for he had not fallen for such low pleasure as the simple flesh. His skin was pale, his hair long and dark, his eyes a blood red from sclera to pupil. His ears were set back into long sharp angles, his body thin yet strong, he wore a robe of black with a flared neck and gold shoulder coverings. Many a time as of late he had been mistaken for Vlad Dracul which perhaps made some sense. Kokabiel cared little for that however, he only wished for this peace to end, for the blood to flow as it had always been meant too. It almost did not matter from whence it came, only that it did.

Right now however the way in which his toy had been handled so easily was unexpected. From what he had been told the peerages in this city, while both relatives of the current Maou of hell, they were peaceful weak even the addition of a sacred gear like the red dragon emperor was not all that much of a concern.

Or at least it should not have been, but looking at all of them now his war honed senses told him something was wrong. Most were stronger than reported; the two siblings of the Maou both seemed to be hiding power and a great deal of it. He could not tell how much only that it was there, the rooks had displayed powers that he had never seen before, and they had a former soul reaper. It must have almost been fifteen hundred years since he had last seen one of their kind.

He still bore the scar from a fight with a woman of all people the greatest sword user of her whole race, he still had dreams about that fight and in all these years that women and only one other had come the closest to arousing his desire for more than just battle. But the great severing had put an end to that and more the better for it, the last thing he wanted was his mind tied up in things as unimportant as sex.

He had been under the impression that Soul Reapers were on the list of things that could not be turned into devil's but perhaps that was because no one could find them anymore. Still this was good as far as he was concerned, things were becoming a lot more interesting. So much so in fact that it seemed like the proper place to call in a few...friends.

"That is quite the wicked smile you have master"

So happy was he that Kokabiel was not even annoyed at hearing the doddering old fool speak, there was a bloody bandage over his eye and that golem of his held him in its arms like a fat baby. "I was thinking, it has been a while since" he frowned "What is that mortal saying" he snapped his fingers a few times "Ah, since I got the band back together" he shook his head "I wonder how many of my host will still answer the call" his grin became manic "How about we find out."

"Kokabiel" He glanced at two little girls with big swords below them one was shouting at him "For your"

"Yes yes crimes aginst everyone and their mother" he said waving a hand "I was listening when you gave that speech to old Valper here" he let out a board sigh "Fine first I will retrieve your Excalibur's then perhaps you two will be kind enough to deliver a message, since you seem to be willing to work with the devils here." on that note the Cadre descended upon his victims, it was almost cute that they did not seem to know that was what they were yet.

1

Kiba was not gone, not yet, he could feel that, he had been in a moment like this before, when a beloved friend possessed by a hollow, erased from everyone's memories save his had faced him atop a mountain of white.

Ichigo did not say anything as he pointed his Blade at the Knight, the thing that Kiba was becoming roared and a twisted blade of thorns appeared in its hand as it leapt for him "Stop Kiba" Issei was in full armor his hands locked around the sword arm "This is not you, please don't do this."

The monster howled and two blades appeared in its other hands, but that second had been enough, Reya screamed, Tsubaski had her hand on her mouth in horror, Rias was in tears, and Ichigo's blade had pieced though Kiba's heart. With an effort of will he poured his power into the boy. There was a flash of white and for a moment in that white Ichigo thought he saw a humanoid shape, something made of pure radiance. He felt a hand on his shoulder, a gentle push and then he was standing in a different place, not only that a very confused unarmored Issei was at his side as well.

"Uh what?"

Ichigo looked around, they stood in a world, a flat plane stretching out in all directions, blades stood out of the soil like flowers, they were all different colors, different shapes, some half formed, some over formed, some useless, some useful, above them in the cloudless sky a sun that looked like it was having the light strangled out of it by some vast dark shadow burned weakly.

"Where are we?"

When Ichigo spoke he knew the answer, knew it with a certainty that had nothing to do with the dead god inside him "Kiba Yutto's inner world" Perhaps the influx of his power had made one, it could even be temporary for all he knew.

"Is that?" Issei pointed "Kiba" he took off and Ichigo followed close behind having spotted the Knight at the same time. They had to avoid the blades but even with that hardly any time seemed to pass. Kiba was not that far away nor even hidden, the boy was on his knees a girl standing in front of him, above him. She looked younger than he, with pale white hair tired in a braid; she wore a hospital gown with a red cross emblazoned on the front. Her eyes though, they were the same eyes the creature Kiba was becoming had and she was speaking. "We saved you and you could not even do us the courtesy of avenging that? We died for you Kiba, we saved you so that you when we could have chosen anyone else. Anyone else would have been better for this." Kiba trembled at her words and behind her a gathering shadow, an amorphous thing of stretching limbs and writhing mutation.

"You could not save us, you cannot avenge us, all you did was forget us, you found a new family to take you in, and now you are abandoning them too. As is you way, you parasite, you take and take and take form all those around you and give nothing in return."

"Kiba!" Issei reached him his fist flashing as he punched the girl square in the face, the image shattered and flew back into the darkness, and the force flinched away drawing back, becoming smaller more defensive.

"Tosca" Kiba whispered a trembling hand held up, the knight looked week, drained or everything "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" The girl reformed in the darkness red eyes glowing but said nothing

"That is not her you know" Ichigo said "With very few exceptions the only things that can exist here are aspects of yourself."

"I left them to die" Kiba said as if not hearing anything, both of them could see what he remembered. Watch as he ran, poisoned, weak, pushed on by his family, and then they saw the slight change as the darkness flared around them. The eyes of the children turned hateful, accusing. Demands of vengeance seemed to follow him in the white storm of snow, names of a traitor thrown in as if the darkness could not decide if it wanted Kiba to be seen as a coward who ran or an avenger who failed and had gone for both.

"I got to be happy" memories ones the boy's had been a part of and ones they had not flashed by, but in each the darkness invaded with the accusing shades of murdered children. "And when I had the chance I failed" The saw him stabbing the archbishop, in this memory he seemed to hesitate, no reason for it, a clear addition but it was why he had failed or so the darkness said.

"I ran from Kaichou, I spat in her face at all she offered." more memories "I don't deserve"

"You don't deserve to live" the girl said with a grin, "The only right thing you can do is give your body to me, that I might take my own vengeance."

"Kiba!" Issei howled and tried to slap him but his hand passed right though, he whirled on the darkness but it retreated further.

Ichigo focused on what was happening, where they were, why they were, he did not think the one who had pushed them here would have done so for nothing. He watched as Kiba moved through more corrupted memories where he had failed, were he had been evil, where he had been a monster, so many memories ...memories.

He focused on his soul, on his inner world, he was part shinigami, the only ones who had an inner world, and even this one here was born of his power. He drew out his memories, memories the darkness that was Kiba's out of control devil power could not touch. He saw the knight flinch as a memory of a fog filled night appeared.

A small happy boy, running to save a girl who did not exist anymore, a monster from the dark, a mother's sacrifice, her red blood on the green grass, the boy begging the cold world not to have this be so. "I still in some way's blame myself for this" he said.

As he and Issei could hear his thoughts inside of his memories so too could the knight here them "There was nothing I could have done at the time, nothing that would have changed what happened. Yet my sisters had to grow with without their mother, because she gave her life protecting me. I know what it is like to carry the will of others who gave of themselves so that you could go on."

Issei was looking at him, then at Kiba, "In time I was the subject of an attack" this new memory was newer, clear, they saw his mother holding him aloft by the throat. "That attack used my regrets, by worst dreams and nightmares, turning them into power and attacking my very soul. Of course I had the luxury of having the one who had attacked me explain what he had done." They watched him overcome the attack with his power and embrace his mother, Ichigo was quite as he listed to the words he had spoken on that day.

"Mom, everyone's fine, Karin and Yuzu, dad is still his usual self" there was a pause "I'm getting by and I have to go, everyone is waiting." they watched as he got to do the one thing he had always wished even if it was just a figment "Mom, I'm sorry I could not protect you back then" and then he said the other thing "Thank you for protecting me" then a strange thing happened, the thing that still made him wonder to this day, the figment looked up and smiled.

"I don't think I will ever truly forgive myself all the way, but I did not have to. It had made me what I am today, it drives me, it teaches me, it makes me hold tight to those I have even across all time and space."

"Traitor, murderer, useless" the darkness howled but the knights eyes were locked on the memory.

The scene shifted as they went though scenes they had seen before, the ones the darkness had altered though these were from Issei's prospective "I can't match either of you in the pain you have, but I can show what I know is the truth" Issei laughed "I told myself I hated you because you got all the girls but that was talk, we all admired you. And that feeling has only grown, you've helped me Kiba, you have helped all of us. Do you think there is no reason why we are ready to fight even the holy swords with you? Do you really think there is no reason that your family saved you. They did that because loved you, even I can see that, even I know that, that is something I share with both of you, I have a family who loves me, and I love them.

The knight began to weep "Love? You are not worthy of love, you can't give it back, you have nothing to offer, you are nothing,." the darkness howled

Ichigo forced the scene to shift; this was their memory of the beach as they all had fun, Kiba speaking in quite tones with Reya, sliding with Tsubaki, playing ball, in all of them he was smiling. "If my mom could come back I know she would tell me not to feel guilty, to live my life. I think that your family would do the same, all the ones who protect you, you owe to them not just vengeance but to live your life as they would have wanted.

The screen shifted to one from Issei's perspective this memory of Kiba training Issei for the rating game with Raiser "And I'm willing to bet they want you to live just as much as we do, to be happy just as much as we want you to be happy.

Ichigo shifted it back, to one where he was watching his mother hold his baby sisters "The choice to do that, to make the greatest sacrifice you could for them and live, that is yours alone to make. This is not the end, not unless you let it."

"NOOOOOO!" the figment Kiba had called Tosca leapt out of the shadow "He is mine"

A blade shot from the ground impaling it, Kiba looked up and they were once again in his inner world "Thank you for letting me see her face again" he whispered.

The figment shifted to the monstrous Kiba snarled its hate reaching for them with its claws before he shattered like glass. The darkness behind him froze as if time itself had stopped around it, the knight stood up; a glowing blue light shining through his shirt and Ichigo winced at the knowledge that Kiba had just gained his mark.

"Thank you both" he said

"Oh good can you hear us now" Issei asked.

Kiba did not answer or even seem to see them standing right next to him, "My body is almost fully transformed, all that flesh and mutation is real now… what do I do?" he shook his head "If it was a sword I could do something with all the extra metal..hmmm" at last he seemed to look around "I know all these swords, each one of them is something Imagined but most I never made." he frowned at the darkness then turned his eyes to the sky " It took a moment to see what he was looking at but Ichigo realized about the same time Issei did that it was not a sky of molten orange it was a chest of an impossibly big creature, as if noticing that changed perspective it became smaller so that they could see the whole upper body, two massive powerfuly muscled arms, a single eye set into the center of a bald head looking right at Kiba.

"Brontes" the knight said that name meant nothing to the two boy's listening but the figure in the sky reacted as if he had been slapped. Slowly it began to shrink is body pulled inward revealing a black starry sky behind it. It took almost a full minute before it stood before the Knight towering over him by a good thirty feet still. When it spoke its voice was as much of a surprise as his body, it was soft gentle, completely at odds with its molten bright skin "Well this is first"

Kiba bowed politely "It a pleasure to meet, he who forged the lightning"

"Polite too, most would have assumed my name matched what I am now."

"Sword birth?"

"For you yes, over time I have been called Spear Birth, Bow Birth, Gun Birth, and many others, the gear I became was named Birth by the White God, who honored me by stating my creations were no meer forging but that my creations had life."

A flash of Kiba's anger reunited at the mention of the White God but it was gone in a moment "He honored you?"

"I no longer wished to be asked or told, or forced to make the weapons of the gods, to make them bigger and better weapons of destruction. I asked him to become this, to bear witness and make real the endlessly inventive imaginations of mortals. Of course at the time mortals could not become devils but you still do fine young man."

"I thank you for your kind words Master Brontes" Kiba glanced at the frozen darkness "I humbly ask for your help, if any you can offer. My body is not in the best shape and I know not what to do"

"You wish to reforge it as if a sword?"

"Can that be done?"

The Cyclops of Greek myth pondered the question "In many cases no, but we are currently held in shadow" his one eye glanced at Ichigo then back to the knight "So there is time" he turned his serious gaze to the knight "I am allowed more leeway with what I can do because I asked for this, by joining my hands to yours I can do this however you will lose Sword Birth."

Kiba looked stunned and then confused "Now that you know the truth it is within the realm of possibility for you to find a way to use me to create that which I do not wish. So I will help you and then I leave, or you could keep you new body sure it is quite horrifying but it is stronger and faster, you will not be insane for you are no longer in danger of losing your soul."

The knight let out a sigh "The worst part is they would accept me as I look, they might not like the look but they would accept me. I would be a burden; I would be a weakness, called a stray because I look the part. It would hurt whatever Buchou would do for the rest of her life and she would still keep me." he look up "You have been with me for so long that the thought of losing you would be like the loss of hand" he looked down that them still frail and weak form coming so close to being consumed. He breathed and his eyes locked on the Cyclops "But perhaps that is what I need, to leave behind part of myself, my rage, my hate." he nodded "I need to reforge them and myself." he let out a breath "So please reforge me"

"Well said blade-smith" the creature whispered as it seemed to melt into molten slag and flow forward, into and around the Knight a third eye opened on Kiba's head his body glowed like molten steel "To reforge a body we forge a blade" the voice that came out was both that of Brontes and Kiba Yutto. They put their hands close as if holding a ball "The metal" they said

The frozen darkness shattered and flowed to them, twisting into a shape no larger than a marble to hover between the hands. That was when the blades began to fly, ripped up from the earth a storm of metal, a world of swords "Every idea a truth, every weapon a small secret" the blades began to hurtle into the space between the molten hands each one became a single drop of metal to wrap around the dark core. "Every imagined dream a reality of its own" So many weapons flew, so many ideas, dreams, thoughts, that Kiba had once had imagined, every one of them helping him onward. "What is the body if not something to forge? We forge it by our actions, words and deeds, why ever not should my Birth forge it too?" The air howled as every blade that struck the darkness bought the sound of a hammer strike, Kiba's molten body seemed to react and respond to each blow like the very sound had stuck him. "A body that can make war, but it needs to be more." the double voice was so odd and disconcerting you could not help but here every word like it was hammered into your skull.

"The touch to caress and create, the smell to appreciate, the ears to hear the sounds of the world. The mind to experience the emotions, the soul to shine his resilience to the world." There was a loud breath "These weapons are part of me and I of them, they are of myself as much as my flesh and blood. By flesh and blood I forge them, by flesh and blood they forge me."

The last of the blades entered the now basketball sized ball of black molten steel. "A parting gift you who are the first to speak unto me. A new weapon for your new life, a gear of my own creation, a metal gear, for a knight of the sword" with his bear hands the knight shaped the metal. A smooth length of steel forty inches in length, with a hand and a half hilt. The metal cooled into dark steel with a core that glowed like angel light. Slowly the Molten Kiba reached into his chest and withdrew Ichigo's mark "The soul of the weapon so that it might grow attain its true form" The lightest of finger strokes etched the mark shaping it into greek letters and pressing them into the weapon the knight held the blade aloft "To the first Metal Gear I give the name Twilight the blade that leads to dawn. To this body we have forged I name it as worthy as the children of the gods. "

Only once voice spoke then, the voice of the Brontes "Goodbye Kiba Yutto, make of your life what you will for few get as many chances as you"

The world vanished in a blaze of bright flame, the real world snapped back into focus, Issei fell back not used to the feeling of a soul returning to a body. With gentle care Ichigo slid Zangetsu out of the Knights body. The pulsing blue light faded and Kiba Yutto was seen again, on his hands and knees breathing out in great gasps, a dark metal longsword with a core of light lay on the ground beside him. He was taller now; his body somehow more youthful, his skin had a healthy glow, his hair had grown out a bit.

With great effort and using his new blade as a support Kiba forced himself to his feet, there were perhaps a dozen or so small changes to the arms, hands, legs, hips and chest. Like a sculpture maker who just polished off the last imperfections of his masterpiece. "Yutto" Rias whispered.

The knight turned and moved on unsteady feet, one step, then two, then three until he was right in front of the women he called King. Slowly he lowered himself to his knee and held up the black sword in both palms. "I have done so much wrong to you Buchou, you gave me a home and a family. In my arrogance I could not see that, for all I have done to you, for all the pain I have caused to everyone around me I can only off my heart, my apology, my oath that it will never happen again. I offer you my sword and may you strike me down should I ever betray you again."

Rias pushed the blade aside letting it clang on the ground and went to her knees pulling the boy against her chest "No, none of that, no words like that, you mine, you are loved, you are forgiven"

The moment had only a short few heartbeats before Sona nodded and turned her glare on all of them "Now will someone tell me what the hell you people have done?"

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 **So there we have it, Kiba has lost Sword Birth but gained a bitchin body and a nice sword to boot. Both things will have to be explored further, I don't think I have ever seen anyone do this yet on dxd fanfiction so yay me I guess.**

 **Kiba has gained a body that I would draw parallels to with Hercules or Achilles, beyond just a basic stat increase he will have a special power and weakness like the two above did.**

 **What is more he was reforged so that he could live life better, his senses are all increased, his mind shifted to adjust to this new reality. Expect a few changes in the man but we currently have an angel invasion coming so ya… fun time for everyone.**

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 **DroptheBoom**

 **The various stages of Ichigo:**

 **Threaten an acquaintance, I'm gonna Bankai you.**

 **Threaten a friend, Vasto Lorde for the win.**

 **Threaten a lover, the Quincy God starts to surface.**

 **Threaten family, Transcendent-Maximum Power: You Are Going To Die And No One Will Stop Me.**

 **Kill any of the aforementioned . . . The Worlds Shall End.**

 **Ooh, Ophis had better watch how she operates or she will get to experience death for the first time in her existence. You have a Shinigami-Hollow-Quincy-Human Hybrid turned Devil with access to the Divine. His transcendent state now is truthfully, unfathomable. If Ichigo got well and truly hacked off he could -and would, if he let Shiro take the wheel- steamroll everything in existence.**

 **Queue evil laugh. I can't wait for the nerf gloves to come off . . .**

 _ **Lol, pretty funny but I feel the need to point out Ichigo is not on the level of the mid to upper tear gods just yet. And that goes double for Ophis the Dragon god, dont hype him up too high yet. However you are right to say when the gloves come off even more powerful creatures might decide its just not worth it.**_

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 **Rebbit Chimp**

 **Most people either try to stay very rigid to cannon or throw it all away to make their own version of said characters, so it's nice to see someone willing to try to add depth. Having Ichigo hesitate, while it does seem to be ooc, shows that he is thinking further ahead than his own nose. Understanding that his actions are not his alone anymore in their repercussions while also trying to find ways to help without being proven a hypocrite.**

 **The scene with Sona was well done, a good moment to showcase not only leadership but also trust and respect in a fine balance.**

 **That being said, Xenovia being manipulative and scheming doesn't really fit too well unless you plan to ditch her cannon 'power idiot' persona entirely.**

 _ **To the first part, yes that is what I was going for, Ichigo has changed in my story to point out a major change his aware of women and attraction and even does his own flirting and teasing. But on a more serious end ya he does want to judge himself as a hypocrite. But as you saw in this chapter he did reach a decision time and he made his choice. That being he cares about the lives of his family above being right.**_

 _ **To the second part, I guess I don't really see Xenovia as sceaming, she did not set all this up and not speaking to the enemy about secrets just seems smart to me. But I might be wrong, I never saw her as a dumbass, just a bit broken on the inside due to the revelation about God. Being single minded in her pursuit to fill that void.**_

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 **Adalhard.9889**

 **Things are coming together, but I'm wondering why is Ichigo doubting his own actions? Even when Ishida went to Yhwach, while shocked and initially confused, he decided to go for him even if he had to force him (admittedly Sado give him some shock treatment to get him out of his shock, but he still didn't doubt his course of action), still the scene of Ichigo learning about the simplicity of Issei's plan was nice if somewhat a little too passive for Ichigo.**

 _ **It might seem a little passive for series as written ichigo but this one had changed, has become more, has gained more. Like the comment above gets at, he knows he is an example for others and is having too decided what kind of example he will be. Issei is kind of fresh faced to all this, and at least to my mind has a gift in the early series for just doing things and putting his all into it. Kind of like early Ichigo, but that is just my thoughts on the matter.**_

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 **Comment of the week.**

 **Razmire**

 **I imagine that 'Who framed Roger Rabbit' wasn't the only movie of Sirzechs that was thrown out when his son was born.**

" _ **Honey were did all my sister brother dojions go?"**_


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